


A Pirate's Life

by lizardwriter, puppyanimagus



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alice Jones is a human formed mostly of sunshine and sass, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Robin Mills is 85 percent pure undiluted stubbornness, because this au wouldn't leave me alone, i know what you guys are about, the smut is in chapter 17, will probably update sporadically because of who i am as a human being
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-05-02 09:27:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 99,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14541699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizardwriter/pseuds/lizardwriter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppyanimagus/pseuds/puppyanimagus
Summary: Alice is a pirate raised by her father aboard the Jolly Roger. Robin is the daughter of a wanted magic user, destined for great things. When their lives collide under unfortunate circumstances, neither could possibly predict how important they would become to one another.Or - the pirate Alice!AU that my brain wouldn’t let go.





	1. The Beginning of It All

**Author's Note:**

> So this is most I've written in almost a year. Please be very gentle with me. It's also the first fanfiction I've written in...five years? Six? Long enough to make me feel rusty. I'm writing it in time so don't expect too much right away. I'll be honest with you I'm mostly writing this as an excuse to imagine Alice dressed as a pirate. Enjoy?
> 
> Quick shout-out to lizardwriter who definitely 100% for sure did not beta this (thanks for beta-ing this Liz).

Robin was still several minutes out, a string of foxes and rabbits over her shoulder, when she heard the scream. She dropped them immediately and took off running, ducking under branches and over logs on instinct alone - lungs burning, muscles screaming, heart racing.   
  
Her mother was brave. Brave, and fierce, and strong. Her mother didn’t scream, not for almost anything.   
  
She broke through the tree-line with her bow already in her hands. In one swift motion she nocked an arrow. Every part of her was trembling on the inside but her arms were steady. In the middle of the clearing was their little farm, the waist-high fence keeping in the pigs and chickens; in the middle of the farm was their modest little house, and in front of the house was her mother.   
  
Every tense muscle in her body relaxed all at once. She lowered her bow as she got closer.   
  
“Mom!”   
  
Zelena Mills looked up, eyes wild, and moved forward - probably to stop her from getting closer but it was a little too late for that.   
  
The screams hadn’t been her mother at all.   
  
On the ground, still smoldering, was what remained of a soldier. He was wearing the armor of the Duke’s men, and he had the sash of a mage-killer around his waist. The fabric was still on fire. When her mother finally met her eyes completely the wild look was gone, replaced almost entirely with panic and concern. Robin could see the reflections of the burning body in the highlights of her red hair.   
  
“He wasn’t alone,” she said. She put her hand on Robin’s shoulder and forcibly turned her away, back towards the house. “We have to leave.”   
  
Robin stared at her mother for a long moment. Her chest felt tight with the strangest combination of pride and fear. She nodded. “Ok.”   


* * *

  
It was surprisingly easy to pack her whole life.   
  
Some clothes, a few books, one or two mementos - everything fit in a bag she could carry across her back. The only important thing was her bow. The last - the only - vestige she had of a man who died without ever meeting her. It was hand carved and she’d wrapped a green cloth around the hand grip. She’d practiced her whole life with it, from the moments the bow was taller than she was to now, when she never missed a mark. Her mother didn’t argue when she saw it placed on top of everything else.   
  
They bypassed the road to the village entirely when they left. At first Robin wanted to stop and say goodbye. They’d had their farm almost six years. They knew people there, had friends and acquaintances and sometimes a little more than that. Her mother’s face was tight when she said no, and it took Robin a while to figure out why.   
  
The Duke’s men didn’t know any of the secret paths through the woods or fields. To get to their farm they had to take the most direct route: through the village itself. Which meant that everyone had known. There was not one person in that village who hadn’t been helped by Zelena Mills and her magic. Not one family who hadn’t had a bone set, a sickness fought, a child born. Not one family who hadn’t had Robin deliver some of her kills in winter when food was scarce. And absolutely no one had warned them.   
  
The unfairness of that burned within her. It formed like a stone in her gut. Four days into the week-long walk to the coast and her mother noticed.   
  
“People fear what they don’t understand,” she said quietly over their fire one night.   
  
Robin jabbed a stick into the flames and scowled. “It doesn’t make it right,” she said.   
  
“I learned a long time ago if I tried to take revenge on every idiot who’d ever done something wrong to me I’d never have time to do anything else.”   
  
“It was our _home_ ,” Robin snapped. “We _helped_ them. What is _wrong_ with people?”   
  
Her mother smiled and ran a hand along her shoulder. “Lots. Too much for magic to fix.” She sighed. The firelight made her look older. “We shouldn’t have stayed here anyway. The moment the Duke made magic punishable by death we should have left.”   
  
Robin dug the point of her stick into the dirt to grind out the fire that had started to burn the top. She threw it into the woods a little too forcefully. “Where are we going?” She asked after a while.   
  
“We’ll pay off a ship captain going across the sea and meet up with your aunt. Settle down somewhere magic is more accepted.”  
  
“Aunt Regina?” Robin perked up at that. “I thought you said that’d be too dangerous.”  
  
The smile her mother gave her was sharp and wolfish. “Too dangerous for everyone else, maybe.”   
  
Robin grinned back. She was little the last time she saw her aunt. She remembered her as someone who summoned tiny versions of dragons and knights so that Robin could save the princess. It was only now that she was older that she realized the sheer amount of power creating those lifelike playmates required. The last time they saw each other her mom and aunt had gotten into a fight. She had no clue about what.   
  
“Will she even want us there?” Robin asked.   
  
“She always wants us there. She’s been saying for years that it’s too dangerous to stay here,” her mother made a face like she bit into a lemon, “and I’m not looking forward to telling her she was right.”   
  
They were both quiet for a long moment. The only sounds were the pop and sizzle of the fire and the creatures scurrying in the nearby woods.   
  
“What was the fight about?” Robin finally asked, when the silence had stretched too long for her.   
  
“Regina wanted to find ways to enhance your magical abilities. I didn’t think it was necessary and I told her that. Loudly.” If it wasn’t for the low light she would swear her mom looked embarrassed. “Maybe a little more forcefully than I needed to.”   
  
Robin frowned. “I’m not that good at magic though.”   
  
“Magic is tough. There are certain objects and spells that can make you stronger than you are. I didn’t want to use one on my kid.”   
  
“But Aunt Regina did?”  
  
“Don’t be too hard on her. There was a lot happening around then, and there are certain spells and rituals that require three witches to cast. If they’re all blood related those rituals are exponentially more powerful.”   
  
It was like a light went off in her head as she put the pieces together. “That was when Henry was sick?”   
  
“Yes. She found another way in the end. One that didn’t saddle my child with unwanted consequences.”   
  
Robin felt the tiniest bit hurt. “Didn’t you want me to have more magic? To be more like you?”  
  
“I want you to be like you. All magic has a price, Robin.” She leaned forward, and the firelight cast dark shadows across her face. “Some that I don’t want my daughter to ever have to pay.” 

There was too much self-directed anger and bitterness in those words. Robin had never asked about her mother’s life before she was more, but she could guess. It wasn’t hard to see the signs. Her mother hadn’t always been a good person. She scooted closer on the ground and leaned into her mother’s side. Zelena put an arm around her and brought her in.

“Thanks,” Robin said quietly, and let the word mean more than that.  


* * *

  
Compared to the bigger port cities up and down the coast, the docks they found themselves at a few days later wouldn’t even be considered very large. There was a half-dozen ships loading and unloading their cargo, big and small vessels alike. Robin squinted at them and frowned.   
  
“So, the big ones are going farther, right? Probably?” She asked.   
  
Her mother looked just as confused as her. Neither of them had ever spent any significant amount of time on a boat. As she watched the crowd she noticed a few kids darting in and out around people’s legs. As she looked closer she saw one dip his hand into someone’s pocket before scurrying off and getting lost in the crowd again.   
  
“I have an idea.” She dropped her gear and bow on the ground and emptied her coin purse into her duffel bag. Then she knelt and filled the newly empty coin purse with rocks. She held the purse up to her mother, who looked arguably more confused than before. “Can you make these look like coins?”   
  
Her mom raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Not convincingly.”   
  
“We don’t have to fool a banker. I just want it to look like I have a lot money on my hip.”   
  
She didn’t look any less confused, but she complied, sticking her hand into the bag to hide the flash of green when she cast the spell.   
  
“Ok, thanks!” Robin immediately tied the bag into her waist and took off into the crowd. She tried her best to look confused and distracted. It wasn’t terribly difficult to fake.   
  
She had to hand it to the kid. If she wasn’t waiting to feel someone reach for her belt she might not have even noticed he was there. Her hand snapped out the minute she felt movement near her waist and she grabbed a wrist that was far too thin for her liking. The kid yelled and tried to squirm away, but she held on until he stopped moving and sagged in defeat.   
  
“Lemme go I didn’t mean nothing!” he whined at her.   
  
Robin led him firmly away from the crowds. She could see his friends darting around and hovering nearby. When they got to the edge of the docks she hauled him around to face her. He was skinny and dirty, and his big brown eyes were glaring underneath a mop of grimy hair.   
  
“Don’t worry, kid. I’ll let you go.” She told him.   
  
The look he gave her very clearly said ‘yeah right’.   
  
“Seriously! I just have some questions first.”   
  
“I don’t know nothin’.” He said. He wiped at his face with his free hand. It didn’t move any of the dirt.   
  
Robin reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the real silver coins she had. His eyes went straight to it like a dog looking at meat.   
  
“There’s a land to the east that’s almost completely covered by a forest,” she said. “You know it?”  
  
The boy nodded.   
  
“Any of these ships sail to it?”   
  
Another nod.   
  
“Any of them take passengers?”    
  
“The Gilded Whale,” he blurted, eyes still tracking the coin like a hawk. “‘S the big one on the right. Lotsa blue sails. They’ll take ya. Caps a dick though.”   
  
Robin smiled at him. “Thanks, kid.” She turned his wrist over on her hand so his palm was facing up and put the silver coin in it. “That’s for the information. These are for some more food.” With a flick of her wrist she used a quick little sleight of hand to make the two other real silver pieces she’d palmed show up between her fingers. She put those in his hand as well before she let him go.   
  
He scrambled a few feet backwards and cradled the coins to his chest. He looked from them to her and back again thoughtfully.  His eyes got wider and sadder, and he opened his mouth once like he was going to say something, but then one of his friends ran forward to drag him away and they all disappeared into the crowd again.   
  
When she walked back over to her mom she couldn’t help but smile.  
  
Zelena rolled her eyes. “Don’t be smug. I could have done that too.”   
  
With a grunt she lifted her gear and bags and put them all back across her shoulders. She hitched a thumb backwards. “The one with the blue sails, he said.”   
  
They both turned to look at the ship. It was made of light wood and it did have a lot of blue sails. There was a whale’s head carved onto the front of the bow. It sat low in the water like it was very heavy. It certainly didn’t look like it moved very fast.   
  
The captain turned out to be exactly like the boy described. He was a thin man with light hair slicked back away from his forehead and sharp, narrow eyes. His name - as it turned out - was also Whale.   
  
Robin had a bad feeling in her gut as she watched her mother haggle with him. There were lots of exasperated sounds and hand motions from both parties before her mother handed over a significantly large purse and walked back over to her.   
  
“It’s their last stop,” she said. “It’ll be nearly two months of travel but he’s willing to take us.”   
  
“Two months?!” Robin yelped.   
  
“It’s the only boat that goes out that far and he’s the only captain who wouldn’t ask questions. Or so I’ve been assured.”   
  
“A trustworthy man wouldn’t assure us he won’t ask questions,” Robin pointed out.   
  
“A trustworthy man wouldn’t take two passengers who approached him out of the blue. We’re not looking for a trustworthy man.”   
  
“No,” Robin grumbled as she followed her mother towards the ship. “But it would be a nice change.”   


* * *

  
The ocean was...very large.   
  
For the first few days out on the open water Robin had felt nothing but sick and miserable. She’d spent her whole life with her feet solidly on the ground. The constant up and down rocking motion was not agreeing with her in the slightest. On the end of the third day they’d run into a mild storm and Robin had spent the whole night awake, bracing herself against the wall anytime a particularly strong wave tossed the boat violently to one side.   
  
Their room wasn’t fantastic. Robin could touch the wall, take three steps, and touch the other wall. There was only one bed that Robin insisted her mother use, although she did manage to talk Whale’s quartermaster into giving her one of the spare hammocks and showing her how to hang it from the rafters in their room.   
  
Most meals were taken below deck but Robin liked to be topside, as it was less likely she would want to hurl while in the fresh air. She was up there now, sitting on the side of one of the decks and digging into a plate of food while her mother soaked up the sun and read. She made eye contact with Whale and very slowly and deliberated stabbed her knife into a piece of meat.   
  
Her mother hummed and turned the page. “Are you threatening the captain of our ship?”  
  
“I’m communicating with him in a way he understands.”   
  
The truth was she’d felt uneasy from the moment they’d stepped foot onto the Gilded Whale and it had nothing to do with being seasick. She didn’t want to tell her mother because there was enough for her mom to worry about without Robin’s completely baseless gut feelings. She’d ignore this, like she’d ignored every time a tingle of warning had worked its way up her spine in the past, and it would go away. Hopefully. Usually.  
  
But she’d keep an eye on Whale just in case. And if the feeling got any worse - well, she’d just have to confront him. 

He was nearby now, studiously ignoring Robin’s glare and speaking with someone she thought might be his second-in-command. They were whispering together, and the other man was gesturing wildly behind them with his arm towards the horizon. Robin squinted where he was pointing and could see – hazy but whole – the outline of a ship.

She quickly swallowed her mouthful of food and set her plate down to hurry over. “What’s that?” she asked when she got close enough.

The other guy gave her a sideways look and walked away but Whale turned to her with one of his smarmy little smiles. “It’s a patrol,” he said, unknowingly putting her on edge. “There’s been word of pirates around here lately. August was just arguing that we should signal them to show we’re friendly.”

She hated Whale. She really did. But she couldn’t deny she was intrigued.

“How exactly do you signal other ships. Probably not with fire?”

Whale’s smile grew. “With our sails. See how the ship over there is flying white ones at half-mast?” (She could, vaguely. It irked her that Whale could see it better.) “That’s signaling that they’re friendly. We’ll do the same and nothing bad will come of it.”

“And what about the pirates?” She asked.

“Just rumors. There probably aren’t any actual pirates around.”

Robin wasn’t about to tell him the thought of the Duke’s navy so close by was a much more terrifying prospect. 

 

* * *

 

It turned out she didn’t have to worry about confronting Whale. 

  
Ten days into their journey and Robin woke up in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason whatsoever. She sat up in her hammock and looked over at her mother on the bed. There was little to no light coming in from the moon shining outside the little port window, but it was enough to see that she was sleeping soundly. Robin watched the gentle rise and fall of her breathing and tried to figure out the sudden panic in her chest. She lifted herself up and swung out onto the floor. 

“Mom,” she whispered, feeling every bit like a child trying to wake their parent after a nightmare. There was no response except for a deeper breath and a sigh. Robin forewent shoes to grab her knife and head towards the door instead. Her bow, which she would have preferred to have with her, would be useless unless she was topside. She opened the door as quietly as she could and stepped out into the hall.

Pain erupted on the side of her face immediately.

She fell backwards with a cry into the wall of the ship and pushed her hair out of her face. One of the Whale’s sailors was there, his face grim and determined. He lifted his hand to hit her again and she lunged forward. She stabbed out with her knife and he brought his arm down onto her elbow, then up into her face again. Her fingers spasmed with the blow and her knife dropped. She dropped to the floor with it and scrambled to grab it again. Someone else kicked her in the side and dragged her backwards. Arms that felt like steel lifted her to her feet and twisted her hands behind her back.

“Assholes!” she snarled. More of Whale’s men were blocking either side of the passageway and Whale himself stood at the front of the pack – smarmy as ever with a cold smirk on his face.

“Did you really thing we didn’t know?” He taunted. “Word of your mother reached port _days_ before you did. It was only a matter of time until you tried to buy your way into an escape.”

“We paid you good money to take us to safety,” Robin growled at him.

“Yes. And the Duke’s men will pay me better money to take you back to them.”

Robin fought helplessly against the sailor holding her as Whale laughed. His second, August, at least looked apologetic.

“Sorry,” he mumbled when he got closer. “Just following ord-“

He never got to the end of his sentence. As he passed in front of the door to their cabin a powerful burst of magic blasted the heavy wood door completely off its frame. Her mother stood in the empty space it left behind. The bright green of her magic danced up the side of her arm like liquid fire.

“Hands off her!” she ordered.

There was a long and quiet moment where it seemed like no one was going to obey her. It seemed absurd, but half of the men looked at Whale before they responded. The captain was pale as he looked at the remains of the cabin door and the crumpled form of August against the wall. Then he nodded at the sailor behind Robin.

The man started to loosen his hold and as soon as her mother was distracted by Robin being able to move again Whale lunged forward. Something silver glinted in his hands and Robin barely had time to make a startled noise before he’d pressed it against her mother’s wrist. One hand now incapacitated she turned to claw at him and he ducked under her swing and came up underneath to hit against her other wrist as well.

Her mother dropped to the ground immediately.

“Stop!” Robin ripped herself free from the loosened hold and ran forward. “What did you do?”

A pair of manacles were around her mother’s wrists. She was twisting on the floor like she was trying to get away from them and even as Robin watched they glowed with a sick light.   

“Stopped a mad witch from hurting anyone on my ship.” Whale reached up to wipe a bit of blood away from where one of her mother’s strikes had managed to hit. The sailor who’d held her before walked over and dragged her up by the back of her shirt. Robin didn’t fight him this time.

“Take them both below. Lock the witch up tight and keep the kid where she can’t cause trouble. And someone hail that Navy ship.”

Whale turned and walked through his men back towards the steps that went topside.

Robin spat after him as two of the sailors lifted her mom off the floor. “I’m going to kill you,” she shouted after him.

“You’re not the first to promise that,” he said, stopping at the top of the stairs to literally look down at her. “But you can certainly try.”

 

* * *

 

They tied ropes to Robin’s wrists and then tied those ropes around the circular mast that went down to the bottom of the ship. Her mother hadn’t stirred from where they’d tossed her into what she could only assume was a prison cell. She was pale, paler than Robin had ever seen her, and every once in a while, when the glow of the manacles would increase, she would twitch like she’d been hit.

“I hope you can hear me,” she shouted at the ceiling. “Because I really want you to know you can go fuck yourselves!”

The ship rocked violently to the side as if in response.

“Shit!”

Robin twisted her wrists around to grip tighter to the bit of rope she could reach. It helped her brace herself the next time the ship rocked again. This time there was a roar that preceded it. She could hear the men above start to shout and then another roar and the ship rocked again. Boots pounded back and forth as the men ran above them.

“Hey!” She shuffled the rope up high enough for her to grab a bit of metal casing that held the mast in place. There was no convenient sharp spot to cut her rope, but it did give her some leverage. She pulled herself upwards so she could jump into the air and kick at the ceiling above her. “Hey!” Another kick. “What the hell is going on up there!”

The next time the boat rocked it was mid-jump and it threw her so violently she could feel a pop in her shoulder. She screamed, and her mother jerked upwards.

“Robin!”

“Busy right now!” Robin shouted back. She could feel a sharp throbbing pain in her arm that radiated across her chest. It wasn’t the greatest thing that had ever happened to her.

“What’s happening?” Her mother asked groggily. She looked like she’d been drugged. She didn’t seem able to even attempt to lift her hands with those damned manacles on.

Robin opened her mouth to answer and the wall next to them disintegrated. She jerked as far away as possible as cannonball rocketed across the room and buried itself in the opposite wall. Water began to rush in through the hole it left behind.

“Help!” she screamed at nobody. Her mother was still swaying. Bits of the ceiling were now falling around them. If there was something happening above-deck it was not going to end well for either of them down below. Especially not when the water was already up to mid-calf. “SOMEBODY HELP US.”

Her mother raised her head to look at her, boots pounded down the stairs towards them, and the ceiling fell in.

 

* * *

 

“-bin…obin… _Robin!”_

Robin gasped awake and tried to lurch upwards. Warm hands pushed her shoulders back down. There was a pounding at the back of her skull that made her think that was a good idea.

“Mom?” she asked. Her voice rasped a little.

Her mother’s relieved face swam into clarity above her. “Right here. C’mon, up you go.” She helped Robin sit up a little slower this time.

“Where are we?” Robin asked. “Did we…” A sudden though occurred to her and it hurt worse than either her arm or her shoulder. “Is this a navy ship?”

“No.” Her mother reached up and moved her hair out of her face. “Nope, turns out that those rumors of pirates were a little more real than Whale thought they were.”

“A pirate ship?” Robin mumbled.

The door to the room swung open and a strange man walked in. “Oh, you’re a-awake!” He smiled nervously at her. He was as round as he was tall and his beard took up more than half his face. “Good! I’m the First Mate here on the Jolly Roger. Smee.”

“You’re who?” Robin asked.

“Smee.”

“S’you?”

The man scowled. “No, Smee. That’s my name.”

“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”

There was a muffled cough from her mother that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. The man rolled his eyes like this wasn’t the first time someone had ever said that to him.

“So, we were saved by pirates?” Robin asked.

Her mother stopped laughing and Smee suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Sort of?” He offered.

“’Saved’ is a little more than I would call it,” her mother said coldly. It was at that point Robin noticed that not only did her mother still have cuffs around her wrists, but she did as well. It seemed a little ridiculous, especially with one of her shoulders wrapped tightly.

“Well you’re a magic user. It’s not like we can let you have free reign of the ship.” Smee sighed. He opened the door wider and beckoned them to follow. “Come above deck and I’ll explain.”

Robin groaned when her mom helped her to her feet but the room didn’t tilt nearly as badly as the first time she’d tried to sit up. She had her feet firmly underneath her when she followed him into the hallway outside the room.

The ship they were on was made of darker wood than the Gilded Whale had been but was also somehow brighter. It had more windows at any rate. Smee led them towards the stairs at the end of the hallway.

“We attacked the Gilded Whale because we knew it thought it was safe with the Navy patrols in the area, so it would be carrying more cargo than normal.” He looked at them a little sheepishly over his shoulder. “Apparently a lot more cargo.”

“We’re not cargo,” Robin snapped even as her mother squeezed her good shoulder warningly.

“Right, sorry. Anyway we attacked the ship at nightfall and – I’ll tell you right now – Whale does not run a good battle at all.”

“He prefers to attack people when they’re not expecting it,” Robin said bitterly.

“To be honest with you we didn’t even know you were there until one of his men spilled the beans about all the yelling going on down below. When we found out why you was down there…well, we weren’t real keen on keeping you around. The captain’s second talked him into it.” He shouldered open a door and led them into the bright sunshine. Robin wondered how long she’d been out.

“I thought you were the first mate?” Her mother asked.

Smee looked almost offended. “I am!” He said.

“But you said the captain’s second-in-command talked you into taking us aboard. I thought that was you?”

“Ah, yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “I’m the First Mate, but I’ve got no illusions I’m his second in command. That would be the young miss.”

He pointed up. Robin's eyes followed.

A girl was sitting on the cross-mast above them. When Robin looked up she stood on top of it completely, steady as if she was on solid ground, and jumped down onto the deck in front of them. For a moment all Robin saw was blonde hair lit up by the bright sun like a halo, and eyes the color of the cloudless sky around them that crinkled when she smiled broadly.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m Alice.”


	2. Raised By Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice details what it's like being raised by pirates, is the moral compass of the ship, and might have the teeniest tiny crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is an Avatar: The Last Airbender reference in this chapter. It's not very subtle. You're welcome.

Alice Jones could be accused of a lot of things. Having a boring childhood was not one of them.

You see, Alice’s entire life she’d grown up to be a pirate. From the moment her father stepped back onto the Jolly Roger with her baby self wrapped up and carried on his back, she’d lived and breathed by the code of piracy. If there was another person in the world who had grown up the way that she did she’d certainly never met them.

Alice knew how to tie knots before she learned how to tie her boots. For the first few years of her life she could swim better than she could walk. She’d learned to read by studying maps, learned mathematics by poring over the quartermaster’s log books. She could take grown men in both hand to hand and sword fighting, could climb rigging like a monkey, and sailed the ship like she as born with the wheel in her hand. The men had a transitional period at first. They weren’t used to children and were less used to girls. It wasn’t long before they adjusted. Little Miss Alice became the pride and joy of the whole ship – and completely and utterly spoiled by it. There was no shortage of “uncles” willing to sneak her sweets or carry her around on their shoulders.

Her father, to his credit, had never once been anything but utterly and exceptionally proud of her. Not to say he hadn’t faced any consequences for his choices. She knew he’d gone from fearsome to laughing stock, initially. He’d fixed that quickly.

She vividly remembered being maybe six or seven years old when he’d had a parley with a rival pirate captain. Alice had been clinging to his side for most of the negotiations and the other captain had made a comment about “brats on ships, especially girl ones”. Her father had picked her up, very carefully set her onto the railing nearby, turned around, and shot the man point blank.

Word had gotten around quickly after that. Captain Hook had a daughter. That daughter was now part of his crew. That in no way meant he wouldn’t eviscerate you on sight.

She knew her father had never meant for her to actively become a pirate. She knew the bare minimum about her mother – that she was a sorceress who had tricked and lured her father, that she had been horrible enough that her father had stolen Alice and run, and that they had to be careful in case she ever managed to escape where he’d left her. He’d brought Alice to the Jolly Roger because he wanted to keep her safe and the safest place with him.

She’d sort of become a pirate by osmosis.

It all came to head when they’d been ambushed by the Duke’s navy a few years ago. The Jolly Roger had fought back and managed to limp away, but her father and half the crew had been captured, including Smee. The next highest-ranking member of the crew had absolutely lost his mind in panic, never intending to have to take the lead in any real way. So, Alice had instead.

Alice Jones, at fifteen, had taken control of the Jolly Roger, rallied the men, and trailed the ship moving away with the captured crew members. She’d planned and launched a counterattack that decimated the navy ship and saved the prisoners. Not even one of the pirates had been lost in the battle.

Her Papa had never argued about her being a full member of the crew again.

That was nearly a decade ago and she’d still never lived it down. When they made anchor at the various hidden islands and ports across the sea she’d still get a cheer and a shoulder clap and a drink bought for her. They called her the Little Pirate Queen and her father practically burst with pride every time they did.

The morning of the attack on the Gilded Whale she stood in her father’s cabin and traced the lines she’d drawn on a nautical map. Her father stood behind his desk flipping through some papers.

“You look worried, love,” he said.

Alice shrugged. “Just checking to make sure I’d mapped the patrol routes right. I think I did, but the whole attack rests on Whale being relaxed because the Navy is supposed to be nearby. If we screw up…”

“We’ll be fine,” he stepped away from his desk and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her into a sideways hug. “It’s a good plan. You did good work.”

She grinned up at him. “I had a good teacher.”

He kissed the side of her head and ruffled her hair, using the motion to gently push her towards the door. “Go and get everything ready for tonight. I want the men in tip-top shape.”

“Aye aye, Captain!” she said, giving him a flippant little salute. She laughed and ducked as he half-heartedly threw a book in her direction.

 

* * *

 

“Steady, steady,” her papa’s voice carried soft but sure across the deck. 

  
It was a dark night. The moon was out but not full, and any sounds the Jolly Roger was making was being covered by the much louder Gilded Whale itself.  
  
Alice was halfway up the rigging with a spyglass to her eye. She was scouting the situation in the other boat. There weren't very many sailors on the top deck and no one in the crow’s nest of the Gilded Whale. As she watched a group of sailors gathered into a small knot and spoke very passionately about something before one of them, apparently someone with a bit more authority, made a sharp cutting motion to end the conversation and led them as a group below deck.   
  
That was a mistake.   
  
She lowered herself off the ropes and onto the deck. Making eye contact with her Papa she lifted her hand and made a few very quick signals. _'Five on the deck, none on the look.'_ He nodded to show he understood and started to go behind the men, tapping their shoulders and motioning to get one or two in a better position. Alice went to do the same with the ones manning the cannons.   
  
“Watch your shots,” she murmured to them one by one. “We want to cripple them, not destroy.” She gave them a toothy grin. “Less money that way.”   
  
Once she’d finished setting them up she caught her papa’s eye again and nodded. He nodded back and drew his sword. Just as they pulled around into boarding distance he lifted it above his head and shouted.   
  
“Fire!”   
  
The cannons fired in near-perfect synchronization. They slammed into the masts and bow of the Gilded Whale. As the other boat rocked from the impact the boarding party started screaming their intimidation cries. They lifted up boards and tossed them across the gap between boats. Some of the more confident ones threw weight ropes across and swung once they were attached.   
  
Alice took one of the boards, crossing it in just a few long strides. The men of the Gilded Whale were still scrambling to respond. She jumped off the edge of the board and immediately swung her sword across the back of one going for a nearby cannon. He cried out and crumpled, his hand going to his bleeding side.   
  
The men of the Jolly Roger made short work of the Gilded Whale. They were under-prepared for an attack and - if the way some of them fought back was any indication - under-trained. Alice kept a careful eye on her papa during the battle but as always she needn’t have bothered. When she looked over to him he knocked the sword out of his opponent’s hands and kicked him over the side of the boat.   
  
As they quickly took control of the battle the men did what they’d been trained to do. The sailors who hadn’t been killed were starting to surrender. Their men cut the ropes of the rigging and tied them up, herding to the front of the ship and roping them together.   
  
Alice heard a strange thump and shouting sounds coming from below deck. She looked down at her feet, surprised, and almost didn’t notice the Gilded Whale sailor lunging at her to the left. She ducked to the side and turned as he flew past her, bring the hilt of her sword up to strike hard against the back of his head. He stumbled and fell against the railing. She turned and smacked his sword out of his hand with the flat of her blade.  
  
“Mercy!” He pleaded as he cowered against the wood support.   
  
She grabbed a handful of his tunic and dragged him to his feet. “What’s happening downstairs? Where is your captain?” She demanded.   
  
The man’s eyes were wide and wild with fear. He kept looking back and forth between her stern face and the ocean waves behind him.   
  
“Can you swim?” She asked almost conversationally.   
  
“No.”   
  
“So if I were to throw you overboard right now, would the waves hesitate to drag you under until you drowned?”   
  
He gulped. “No, ma’am.”  
  
“Then worry less about the ocean, which has already decided to kill you, and worry more about me, who’s still mulling it over.”   
  
“The captain is below deck!” he spat out hurriedly, like he thought if he didn’t speak fast enough she’d do it anyway. “A magic user and her brat paid us off to carry them to the Enchanted Forest. We put them below deck to take them back to the Duke’s Navy!”   
  
Alice scowled at him. “And they say pirates are scoundrels,” she said disgustedly. She hit the hilt of her sword against his temple and he crumpled. One of the men came over to drag his unconscious form over to his crew mates. As he did so Alice went to search for her father.   
  
He was standing up near the wheel when she found him. He grinned fiercely at her when she approached.   
  
“Smooth as silk!” he said above the dying sounds of any more resistance.   
  
“Papa, one of Whale’s men said they have prisoners on board,” she told him. “A magic user and their kid. They locked them below deck.”   
  
Her father’s smile disappeared. “A dangerous magic user?” He asked.   
  
She shrugged. “He didn’t say. But we can’t just leave them down there!”   
  
“Like hell we can’t,” he grunted. “We’ve enough to worry about without taking in refugees, Alice.”  
  
“And if it were me?” She asked, stopping him in his tracks as he went to turn away. “If I was the magic user they caught and locked up? Would you want someone to walk away from me like that?”   
  
His shoulders tensed as the argument got to him. He knew Alice couldn’t control her magic as well as she needed to, and she knew the threat of her one day being captured not just for piracy but for magic was something that hung over his head like a sword. The punishment for piracy was hanging. The punishment for magic was much worse.   
  
“Sir! Miss Alice!” Smee ran up to them before the debate could continue. “The Whale is going down. One of the cannons struck a hole in the cargo hold.”   
  
Her papa cursed as they both noticed the way the ship was starting to list to the side. “Damnit!” He turned to look back at Alice. She stared at him with big, pleading eyes. “Tell the men to salvage everything they can carry and get it on board. Quickly! And Smee-“ Smee stopped midway through leaving to follow those orders and looked back. “Get some men below. There are prisoners in the brig. Take them to the Jolly Roger but don’t remove their restraints. We don’t know what kind of people they are.”  
  
“Yes, sir!” Smee shouted for some men as he ran off.   
  
“Alice, lead the retreat. I’m going to see if I can find the captain of this cursed vessel before it goes down.”  
  
Alice grinned and nodded. She was a few steps down towards the main deck when he called after her.   
  
“I just want you to know stuff like this is the reason people think I’ve gone soft!”   
  
Alice laughed. 

 

* * *

 

“ _Why_ did we take them from _their_ brig and put them in _ours_?” Alice demanded the minute her father stepped into his cabin. She’d been sitting in his chair behind his desk, feet up in the way she knew specifically annoyed him, waiting for him to come back.

Her papa looked tired – from the energy of the battle and the clean-up that happened afterwards. She felt almost guilty when he scrubbed his hand over his hair and bits of soot puffed up. She probably could have left this confrontation until the morning. He was holding a pair of manacles in his hands and he placed them down on the desk in front of her.

Alice threw herself backwards like she’d been shocked.

“What?” her papa asked, alarmed. His hand went to his sword and his eyes darted around immediately for a sign of an attack.

“What is wrong with those?” she yelped. It came out breathless like she’d been punched in the gut. She couldn’t explain the way those iron cuffs made her feel. Her skin was crawling all over itself. Her very bones felt like they were buzzing and made of lead all at once. She backed up until she hit the very wall of the ship itself and even then, she felt like it wasn’t far enough away.

Her papa took two big steps forward and picked them. He tossed them across the cabin where they hit the floor with a dull _thunk_. The sensations stopped as soon as he did so. He walked over to pull her into a hug and she leaned into him gratefully.

“They were on the magic user,” he told her after he gave her a little kiss on the top of her head and stepped away. “I removed them and replaced them with ours. The ones –“

“The ones we have for mother,” Alice finished for him.

He nodded. “Aye. Maybe a little less strong than those, but they don’t burn the skin when they touch.”

Alice felt like throwing up when she even looked in the direction of the cuffs. “Can we toss those overboard?” she asked. “I can’t – I don’t –“ she couldn’t stop the shudder that rattled her body, the churning in her gut at the thought of what those must feel when they’re put on, “I don’t like them.”

“We’ll keep them only until the next time we make port,” her papa promised. “But they’ll fetch us a pretty penny from some of the right people.”

She almost wanted to tell him to destroy them anyway, no matter how much they might get for them. Things that felt like that didn’t deserve to exist anywhere. But she’d pushed him enough today as it was. Which brought her back to her original reason for being in his cabin.

“Speaking of the magic user…” she turned to glare at him.

He leaned against the edge of his desk and rubbed a hand across his chin. “Please, don’t. Alice, we saved them from death but we don’t _know_ them.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Did you even ask who they are?”

“Aye! I got curses in response.”

“Did you ask before or after the cuffs were still on?”

“Alice,” her papa said sharply. It made her stand up straighter. He rarely spoke to her like that. “I agreed to take them in, but not to endanger my crew to do so. That woman can snap her fingers and set this entire ship alight. They will be treated decently, put up _comfortably_ in the brig, and escorted far away from the ship when we make port somewhere safe. It’s more than they would have gotten from the crew of the Whale.”

She didn’t like it. Everything inside her was telling her that they could be – if not trusted, as least given more leniency – but that was just a _feeling_. And she could argue with her papa until she was blue in the face, but she knew it wouldn’t get anywhere this time.

“Ok,” she said finally. “When can I meet them?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose like she was giving him a headache. “The kid was injured before we started to attack. Trying to fight off the crew from getting to the mom –“

“I like them already.”

“- and then injured more during the battle. They’ll be staying in the infirmary for the time being until Archie says everything’s all right. And then _yes_ they will be in our brig.”

It was an acceptable decision if not an ideal one.

“Go to sleep, Papa,” she said. She leaned up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk more about this later.”

“We will _not._ ”

Alice made a non-committal sound and basically shuffled sideways to keep an eye on the cuffs at all times as she walked to the door. There was magic and there was sorcery and then there were _those_. And she never wanted to experience being near them again.

 

* * *

 

It was nearly a full day later before Alice got a good look at their guests.

Most of the next morning was a lot of involved maintenance of the ship. Thankfully the battle had been an easy one and the Whale hadn’t managed to fire a single cannon back at them. There was no damage to the hull or sails that would mean they would need to stop and repair. The men themselves were mostly whole. With Archie keeping an eye on their guests it was up to Alice to patch up the wounds that they’d accrued in the scuffle. None of them were particularly bad, although Alice was going to keep an eye on the cut on Billy. It was deeper than most and could easily get infected if they weren’t careful.

She only got glimpses on the occasions she had to go belowdecks to get supplies. Archie had handed her a roll of bandages and shooed her away, but not before she’d gotten a look inside.

The magic-user woman was only about her father’s age, from what she could see. She had red hair the color of fire and a pretty face with high cheekbones. She was leaning over the bed when Alice glanced in. Archie had nudged her out before she could get a better look.

If the woman was her papa’s age, then maybe the “brat” the Gilded Whale sailor had mentioned was her age? That would be great. Boy or girl, she’d never really had playmates as a child, or friends her age now that she was grown up. Billy was closest, but he also looked at her with big puppy eyes and she didn’t want to encourage whatever he was feeling by spending a lot of time with him.

She was perched on the cross mast when she finally saw Archie come get Smee and lead him below. She was _supposed_ to be checking one of the sail lines to make sure it hadn’t frayed – and she’d definitely been doing that at first – but how was she supposed to concentrate on that now?

Smee came up first, with the sorceress woman right behind him. Her hair was even brighter when the sun hit it and the woman squinted her eyes against the way the light bounced off the waves. She had manacles on still and her hands gripped the shoulder of the person next to her.

Alice’s heart leapt into her throat and lodged there. The “brat” was a girl, and her age as well if she was any judge. Her hair was light – some sort of indiscriminate color between blonde and very light brown. Alice couldn’t see her eyes very well from up here, but she could see the rest just fine. The lines of her face were softer than her mother’s but still similar, she had a strong jaw and she was frowning as she looked at Smee talking. It made a little crease show up between her eyebrows. Alice could see a bit of a bandage along the back of her skull and her left shoulder was wrapped carefully.

As Alice observed them she could see Smee start to motion upwards. Knowing an entrance when it was presented, she leapt down from the mast and bent her knees when she hit the deck so she didn’t topple over like the first six times she’d tried that move.

“Hello,” she said with a big smile, “I’m Alice.”

Green eyes like a forest in summer glared at her. The girl attempted to cross her arms, maybe to try and be intimidating, but the shoulder wrap kind of ruined the effect. It was the mother who spoke up first.

“Zelena Mills,” she said shortly. “And my daughter Robin.”

_Robin_. Alice’s smile got wider when Robin just grunted in response as her mother nudged her to speak up. The other girl’s glare hadn’t let up at all and the surliness was just the tiniest bit endearing.

She gave a flourishing little bow to them. “Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger.”

“Very welcoming,” Robin grumbled finally. She lifted her wrists to prove the point.

All Alice could do was shrug at her. “I apologize for that, but you are strangers. Potentially dangerous ones. We do have to take some precautions! I didn’t make the decision.”

“Smee mentioned you’re the second in command,” Zelena said.

“Yes.” Alice nodded. “The word ‘second’ is particularly important. I still have to follow the captain’s decisions.”

“AH, yes about the Captain –“ Smee started.

“Why even save us if you’re just going to lock us up?” Robin demanded.

“Captain Hook will want –“

“We’re pirates, not monsters,” Alice argued. “You would have drowned if we left you on the Gilded Whale. There’s no way any of those men would have prioritized you over themselves.”

“I told the Captain I would-“

“So we’re supposed to be grateful we’ve been moved from one bad situation to another slightly less bad situation? I don’t see the improvement here.”

“If I could maybe just –“

“The improvement is that you’ll be comfortably transported somewhere safe and let go.”

“Like when a spider gets into your house?”

“ _Girls!”_

Alice and Robin both stopped and looked over at Zelena. Her eyes were vaguely amused as she stared them down. “I believe Mr. Smee was trying to say something.”

“Yes, thank you, as I was saying. I told Captain Hook I’d let him know when the guests were both awake and up.”

Robin scoffed audibly at the word “guests” but was largely ignored. Alice glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. Grumpy and scowling was still a cute look on her.

“No need, Smee. I’m already here.” Her papa’s voice came from behind them.

She looked over her shoulder at the stairs that led to the upper deck and the helm. He stopped halfway down the stairs and posed for what she could only assume was dramatic effect. Alice resisted the urge to snort at his theatrics.

“Good morning, Papa!” she greeted him.

The drama of his entrance wilted a little. He gave her a warm smile, even though his tone was scolding. “Morning, Starfish. All of the lines have been checked?”

Caught. “Mostly,” she said cheerfully.  

“Your name is Hook,” Robin said slowly. “And you actually have a hook for a hand?”

“My name isn’t Hook,” her papa said.

“But it’s what people call you.”

“Yes.”

“Because – I really can’t stress this enough – you have a hook. So that’s what they decided to call you.”

Her papa scowled but Alice knew him well enough to see the amusement hidden in his eyes. “Pirates are a straight-forward bunch. I apologize, little miss, that you seem to find the accommodations on the Roger lacking. I could return you to the Whale if you preferred your treatment there.”

The little crease between Robin’s eyebrows deepened when she glared at Alice’s papa like she was trying to set him on fire. Alice giggled, and winked when it made Robin look at her.

“The nearest port is two weeks out,” he continued when neither of their guests responded to his snipe. “You’ll find yourselves treated well until then. Smee will show you where you’ll be staying. Alice, with me for a moment.”

Alice bounced up the stairs two at a time to reach the top before her papa. He gave her a look like he didn’t appreciate the show of exuberance. He led her over the helm and took it back from one of the crewmembers.

“Storm coming in soon,” he said. “Waters will get a little choppy. Make sure you actually do check the lines before that happens.” Alice stood and waited. She _knew_ that’s not why he asked her to follow him. “And I know it’s in your nature to be trusting, but please try to keep an eye on our guests. I want their stay with us as adventure-free as possible.”

Alice would absolutely be keeping both her eyes firmly on their guests, she could guarantee him that. 

“No worries, papa. What kind of adventure could we possibly get into stuck on a ship?”

The look her father gave her stated – very explicitly – that he did not doubt she would find a way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm ohmightysmiter on tumblr if you wanna come yell at me about curious archer


	3. Tides Ever-Changing and Rough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin destroys Jolly Roger property (twice!), almost snarks herself into getting thrown off the ship, and can't stop being gay for more than two seconds at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be completed honestly with you guys, at this point lizardwriter practically deserves co-author credits with how much she listens to me talk about this fic and with how many of her suggestions and lines make it into the final cut. So if you guys like Legends of Tomorrow or Avalance you should go check out her stuff because it's A++.

Robin was petty.

Robin was petty, and irritated, and bored – which meant that because there was a dress within reach of the bars of their little room she was unravelling it and braiding the strings of fabric together.

“Why are you doing that?” Her mother asked from where she was laying down with her eyes closed.

“Because fuck them,” Robin said as she as twisted her hands around to continue braiding.

She refused to admit that the room they were in was ten times nicer than the cargo hold they were kept in on the Whale. It was obviously an actual cabin that had been repurposed into a brig, with one of the walls being torn down and replaced with solid bars. The men had allowed them to hang sheets up on the bars for privacy, which she also refused to admit was rather decent of them, and instead she took her anger out on the things they had stolen from the Whale and had stored up here with them.

“That’s a little bit useless, you know?”

“Saying ‘fuck them’ or braiding the fabric together?” Robin asked.

“Both.”

“You never know, it could be a really big dress. I could make a rope long enough to escape out a window or something.”

Her mother finally opened her eyes to look at her in disbelief. “Out of a window? Into the ocean. With iron cuffs on our wrists.”

Robin frowned down at her project. “I didn’t say it was a good plan,” she said.

They were interrupted by footsteps clomping down the stairs. Robin _almost_ smiled when Smee stopped around the corner and waved his hand to announce his presence. Her mother actually was smiling when she sat up.

“Good morning, Mr. Smee.”

Smee stepped fully around the corner and smiled nervously at them. He glanced once at Robin very obviously destroying a piece of their loot from the Whale but smartly decided not to comment on it.

“All set to head up top for breakfast and sunshine?” He asked. The keys around his belt clinked against each other when he grabbed one to unlock their door. Robin had briefly considered stealing them at one point.

Her mother stood up gratefully, but Robin remained stubbornly sitting on her corner of the floor, braiding. “Not hungry,” she said.

Smee’s nervous smile disappeared. “You should eat, kiddo. If you’re anything like Miss Alice you’re probably still growing.”

“I’m fine,” Robin snapped.

Her mother gave her a concerned look but shook her head. “I’ll bring you back something, then,” she offered.

Robin shrugged. They both disappeared up the stairs and Robin brought her wrists up to pull the pin she had taken out of the dress from the inside of her sleeve. She set out picking the lock on her cuffs with slow, determined movements. She’d been picking locks since she was old enough to figure out sometimes stealing was a necessity, she was sure she could - _clink_.

She looked in horror at the snapped half of the pin in her hands. “Damnit!” she hurled the remains of it across the room where it did not make any sort of satisfying noise when it hit the wall.

Damn pirates.

Damn pirates and their complicated locks. Damn pirates and their weird sense of morality and their pretty eyes.  

Like the thought had summoned her Robin heard a particular set of footsteps bound down the stairs. She knew who it was even before Alice rounded the corner.

“Good morning,” she greeted. She threaded her arms through and bars and leaned in, making herself comfortable. Her usual broad smile was small and more concerned at the corners. Something tugged in Robin’s chest. “Smee said you didn’t want to come upstairs.”

Robin studiously ignored looking at her and instead went back to braiding her pieces of string.

“You know you’re ruining that dress,” Alice told her cheerfully.

“I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“What are you even making?”

“A rope to hang you with. Isn’t that the punishment for pirates?”

“Doubt you could make a very strong rope with that,” Alice laughed, completely nonplussed by the threat.

Robin sighed. “Why do you even have this stuff near us anyway?”

Alice shrugged, and it rubbed her shoulder against one of the bars. “Too much in the cargo hold. That’s why we’re headed to Wonderland to sell the lot.”

Despite her initial determination to ignore her, Robin was a little too intrigued. She internally kicked herself as she asked, “Wonderland?”

Even in the low light it was easy to see Alice’s eyes brighten. The tugging in Robin’s chest got worse. “It’s a pirate port about a few day's journey from here,” she supplied readily. “We go there quite often to unload and restock.”

“Fascinating,” Robin said sarcastically.

Alice’s smile didn’t dim at all. “It really is! I’m trying to talk my father into letting you and your mother disembark when we get there.”

“Not worried we’ll escape?” Robin asked.

“There’s nowhere to go,” Alice told her. “Wonderland was built by – and run by – pirates. You’d find no one to take you off the island.”

Robin grimaced. “Well aren’t you magnanimous.”

Alice disentangled her arms from the bars and lowered herself to sit cross-legged on the floor across from Robin. “Listen,” she said, and it was the first time Robin had ever seen the smile disappear completely from her face, “This sucks and I get it. But right at this moment there’s nothing either of us can do to fix the situation.”

“You get it?” Robin felt her anger snap inside her like a living thing. Her eyes sparked when she leaned forward. “My mom killed a mage-hunter. We were betrayed by an entire group of people we trusted and called friends. We had to leave our home and travel on the run for days. The man we paid to take us to safety turned on us and tried to kill us. And now we’re stuck on a pirate ship in handcuffs. So sorry if I’m a little irritated but it’s been a rough couple of weeks, wouldn’t you say?”

“What can I do to make it better?”

The question surprised her. It was spoken with so much quiet sincerity that Robin felt her anger start to drain away on its own.

“And don’t say unlock you,” Alice said with a softer version of her usual smile. “You know I can’t do that yet.”

_Yet._ The word made Robin hesitate. Alice had done nothing but attempt to keep them comfortable for days and she was starting to think maybe the least she could do is try not to be an asshole to the other girl.

Then she remembered the situation and all her anger came back. “Nothing,” she said. She turned her head away and started to braid her strings again.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard Alice sigh and stand up. “All right,” she said quietly. “I’ll let Smee know if you change your mind about coming upstairs when he brings your mother back you can do so.”

Robin ignored her. She didn’t look up again until her footsteps had disappeared entirely.

 

* * *

 

By the time Smee had come back with her mother and a plate covered with food for her, Robin had had time to think things over a little bit. There was something she wanted to check up on, and maybe it was something she could have asked Alice, but now Smee was here and he would do as well. She’d been carefully inspecting everything she could see stored down here with them because she’d assumed it was everything they’d taken. But Alice had said that things were only stored up here because the cargo hold was full which meant there were more things she hadn’t seen yet.

She accepted her plate of food and smiled at Smee, something which obviously took him by surprise. “Thank you,” she said.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. “You’re welcome. There a reason for the change of heart? Miss Alice told me you could go upstairs if you wanted.”

Robin ignored the way her stomach flipped at Alice’s name. She didn’t have time for that right now. “No, I’m ok for now. I just had a question for you.”

“Ok, shoot,” he said as he locked the door behind her mother again.

“Alice mentioned this isn’t everything you took from the Whale. So there must be some more stuff stored somewhere else?”

“Aye. What of it?”

“Was there a –“ it was hard to get out now that she was actually asking for it. The loss of her bow wasn’t something she’d let herself think about in the last few days. She knew Whale and his men had taken it after they’d captured her and her mother. But now that there was a possibility… “Did you take a bow from the Whale? It was a longbow made of light wood. It had green on the hand grip?”

She could feel her mother’s sympathetic look on the side of her head. Smee just looked confused.

“You want to know if we took a bow?”

Robin nodded. “Yes.”

“Was it expensive looking?”

Robin snorted out a little laugh, thinking of the abuse she’d put the poor thing through. Her mother had had to magic it back into repair more than once. “No.”

“Why would we take a bow?” Smee said, shattering the little bit of hope in her. “None of the men know how to shoot one and the ship was sinking. If it wasn’t expensive we didn’t grab it.”

Robin felt her eyes heat up and immediately blinked hard to try and smother any tears threatening to come up. Smee looked more confused than before. Angry and stubborn Robin he was used to, upset girls were probably not his forte. Robin put her plate of food down and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

“Kid, I’m sor-“

“Fuck you, Smee,” Robin snapped. “Fuck all of you! Just go away!”

Smee nodded and backed up. He kept looking at her mother, still more than a little confused, before he shrugged and started to go back upstairs. Robin took the cup of water and hurled it so it smashed against the corner after he turned past it. There was a pause in his step almost like he was going to come back, but then he continued on.

“Robin,” her mother started.

“Please don’t,” Robin interrupted her miserably. “I know you’re being smart and trying to think of a way out of this and I’m just making everything harder but –“

“I’m not trying to think of a way out of this.”

Robin spun around to look at her mother, mouth hanging open in surprise. “What?”

“Robin, we almost died on the Whale. Do you understand that?” Her mom came over and took her face in her hands, her eyes serious and concerned. “We were absolutely helpless in a way I never want to be again. And when I saw that beam collapse, saw it hit you, and could do nothing to help…” She trailed off and pulled Robin close to kiss her forehead. “I don’t care if we’re trapped here. We’re going to sit here and get through this, we’re going to let Hook drop us off somewhere, and then we’re going to find a way to Regina’s. But escape? It’s just not a priority right now.”

“We’re being treated like prisoners!” Robin said.

“You think I don’t know that?” Her mother snapped back. “But throwing things at them, destroying their loot, insulting them. You think that’s going to endear us to them at all?”

“I don’t _care_ about endearing ourselves to them!”

“Well you should! Because at the end of the day they can decide to throw us into the ocean without a second thought and we’ve given them no reason not to do so.”

“I won’t thank them for treating us with basic human decency!”

“AND I WON’T ALMOST LOSE YOU LIKE THAT AGAIN!”

Robin was shocked to see tears start to gather in the corner of her mother’s eyes. She sniffled and her hands were shaking when she put them on Robin’s shoulders. “I won’t,” she repeated. “I _can’t_.”

“Mom…” Robin almost couldn’t breathe around the pain in her chest that had nothing to do with her hurt shoulder. She’d been so focused on how angry she’d been at the situation she hadn’t even noticed what her mother was doing. She threw herself into her mom’s arms and hugged her tightly. “I’m not going anywhere,” she promised.

“I know,” her mom said into the top of her head. “But you almost did. I know how you must feel about your father’s bow but just…please just try to behave? Just for a little while.”

Robin nodded into her mom’s shoulder. “As long as you stop sitting back and just letting things happen. If we see an opportunity, we take it. Agreed?”

Her mom tightened their hug. “Agreed.”

An awkward little cough interrupted them. Robin didn’t have to look up to know Zelena was glaring at whoever was nearby. “Can we help you?” she asked coldly.

“Just passing through,” she heard Archie say. “I wanted to check on Robin’s arm.”

Robin stepped away from her mom to look at the man. He was thin, with red hair a few shades lighter than her mom that was receding back from his forehead. He wore a pair of glasses that he squinted at them through. “It’s fine,” Robin said. Her mother nudged her sharply in the ribs, so she added, “Thank you.”

Archie pushed his glasses up with his finger. “Try not to do too much with it for a little bit,” he told her. “No sword fighting for at least a month,” he gave them a joking little smile.

Robin rolled her eyes at him. “Not a problem. I’ve never picked up a sword in my life.”

He winked at her. “You and me both. Well it seems like you don’t want to be interrupted so I’ll just,” he awkwardly motioned behind himself.

Robin caught her mother’s eyes when he walked away, and they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

 

* * *

 

Hook found her when she’d finally accepted Alice’s standing offer to have Smee lead her abovedeck for some sunshine later in the day. She was sitting on the side of the boat with her feet hanging off the deck. Every once in a while, the waves would reach out and splash at her boots.

She heard him approach and stop a few feet away, but she didn’t look over to acknowledge him, hoping if she ignored him he’d go away. Smee was hovering nervously somewhere nearby.

“Heard you threw a cup at Smee this morning,” he said as a greeting.

Robin leaned her chin on top of the railing. “I threw a cup in the direction Smee happened to be standing in,” she corrected.

“Yes, well, most people would call that throwing it at someone.”

Robin finally turned her head to look at him. She had to squint a little since he was standing with the sun mostly behind him. “Going to make me walk the plank for it?” she asked.

Hook sighed and moved closer so that his body blocked the sun from hitting her eyes. She could see him more clearly now. She had no clue how he wasn’t dying of heat in his all-black ensemble, but she couldn’t deny he certainly looked the part of a pirate. One hand was resting on his belt and he scratched at his chin with his hook.

“Can I help you with something?” She asked. Smee cleared his throat significantly nearby and Robin sighed and amended, “Captain?”

“I just wanted to let you know I’ve been speaking with my daughter and I’ve agreed to let you and your mother go ashore when we reach Wonderland,” he said. He offered her a little smile.

Robin turned her torso to look at him fully this time. This close she could see the similarities between him and Alice, specifically in the color of their eyes and the way the corners of them crinkled when they smiled. “Thank you?” she said, the end ticking up like a question.

He shrugged at her and looked to their right. “She’s very persuasive,” he said. “And you can’t possibly get into more trouble in Wonderland than the rest of the people on that island. Including my daughter herself.”

She looked with him. Alice was standing along the top deck, talking with another member of the crew. The wind was whipping her bright blonde hair around her face and Robin felt her mouth go dry at the calf-high boots, the tight breeches, the way her leather vest highlighted every curve. The sword at her hip was not helping matters. It took a lot of willpower to remember Hook was standing nearby and maybe she shouldn’t be blatantly eyeing his daughter in front of him.

Hook, however, looked more concerned with the dark clouds gathering along the skyline behind Alice. When he stopped studying them he caught Robin’s eye again and raised an eyebrow in a way that made her wonder if he had actually been as oblivious to her looking at Alice as she thought.  “You were on the Whale for the last storm that hit?” was what he eventually asked, instead of something else. It was a little bit of a relief, honestly. Robin nodded. “This one will make that look like a child’s bath in comparison.”

Just the thought nearly paralyzed her. It must have shown on her face because he awkwardly shifted his weight between one foot and the other and tried to backtrack.

“The Jolly Roger is as sturdy as they come,” he assured her. “The only reason I’m saying so is that every hand not absolutely necessary to keep the ship afloat during the storm is going to have to be below deck. Some will be in the same part of the ship as you. I expect a little more respect paid to my crew. And no more throwing things at them.”

Robin nodded again. “Fine,” she agreed, grudgingly. “I was just in a bad mood.”

“Do you mind if I ask why? Outside the obvious.”

He looked like Alice in that moment, so much that it caught her off guard enough to answer honestly. “I had something that belonged to my father with me on the Gilded Whale,” she told him. “It was pretty much the only thing I had of his and it wasn’t something your men would think to grab as loot. I got upset when he told me that.” Hook looked at her like he was seeing a whole new part of her and it made her uncomfortable. “Sorry for taking it out on Smee. Sorry, Smee!” She raised her voice at the end so he could hear her.

“No worries!” Smee shouted back. “You’re not the first person to throw something at me!”

“Done interrogating for today?” Robin asked Hook after he’d been quiet for a moment.  

She absolutely delighted in how awkward that seemed to make him again. He coughed and excused himself to go do ‘captain stuff’ as he put it. It was so easy to throw this crew off their game. Now if it was only easy to do it to their second-in-command.

 

* * *

 

Robin regretted every decision of her life that led to her having to step even one foot on a boat.

Hook hadn’t been exaggerating when he said the storm that would hit would be far worse than the one they’d weathered on the Gilded Whale. Her mother seemed to be doing ok. She was sitting up on the cot and talking quietly with Archie through the bars. Most of the men who had to stay down with them were being respectful and quiet. Some of them were peacocking trying to impress her mother, talking in loud voices about their various adventures and puffing out their chests when she looked over at them. It would have been highly amusing if Robin didn’t feel like she wanted to die.

She had curled herself into the tightest ball possible and smushed herself into the corner. She was pale and sweating, and the only relief for that was pressing her face against the cool bars. She’d already thrown up three times and wasn’t keen on making it four. It was why Archie had come over in the first place. He was worried she had come down with something and could only be sympathetic when he realized it was seasickness.

“Archie, I hate boats,” she moaned.

He handed her a cool cloth with a little chuckle and told her to put it on the back of her neck.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she whined even as she followed instructions.

It helped the headache a little bit but not any of the rest of her problems. She was partway through an internal monologue about how dumb sailing is and how she never wants to have to do it again when the door at the top of the steps slammed open. The wind outside sounded like someone screaming and one of the men ran up the stairs to help whoever it was close the door again.

Her poor, besieged stomach barely had room for the butterflies that appeared when Alice came down the stairs. She was soaking wet from the wind and rain, her light-colored tunic nearly completely see-through and clinging to her, and Robin felt about two seconds from catching on fire. Alice smiled at Archie and her mother as she used a hair tie to bring her wet blonde hair up away from her face. Robin groaned and squeezed her eyes shut again as the next round of nausea swept over her.

“Robin!”

The butterflies were back full force, this time not seeming to care that she was two seconds from throwing them up. When she felt movement in front of her she opened her eyes to see Alice kneeling in front of her in an almost exact mirror of their conversation earlier that morning. Alice reached through the bars to put a cool hand against her forehead. Robin couldn’t stop herself from leaning into it.

She looked at Archie and frowned. “Is she ill?”

“Seasickness,” Archie told her.

Alice clicked her tongue sympathetically, but her eyes were more than a little amused once Archie had assured her it wasn’t serious.

Robin didn’t see the humor. “Don’t you laugh at me too,” she said.

Alice hummed in the back of her throat and it made Robin’s body heat up. She resolutely pushed those feelings down. She was not in a position to be attracted to a member of a crew of pirates that had her locked up. No matter how attractive that member was. Or how sweet she seemed to be. Or how her whole face lit up when she smiled.

She groaned again and blamed it on the angry seas.

Alice pulled her hand away and Robin missed the cool pressure against her forehead. She watched as Alice got up and walked way for a second to rustle around in a nearby crate before coming back with a twisted piece of bark in her hands.

Robin looked sideways at it. “Why do you have ginger root?” she asked between gritted teeth as she fought her upset stomach.

She heard the sound of Archie smacking himself in the forehead. “Of course!” he said. Robin ignored him.

Alice looked at her with a little bit of delighted surprise. “Didn’t think you’d know what this was,” she said.

“I grew up in a forest,” Robin countered.

Alice pulled a knife out of her boot and cut a sliver of ginger off. “Here,” she said. “Open up!”

Robin looked at her dubiously but was genuinely too sick to argue at this point. She opened her mouth and let Alice lean forward and put the ginger root on her tongue. She could hear her pulse in her ears, feel it at her wrists, and was aware of every millimeter of her lips that brushed against Alice’s fingers when she pulled back.

At least Alice also seemed to be a little flustered. She leaned back and wiped her hands on her breeches without dropping the ginger root first. The bark scraped against the fabric loudly.

“It’s gotta be under your tongue,” she mumbled just loud enough for Robin to hear.  

She didn’t necessarily know how sucking on ginger would help but was willing to try absolutely anything at this point. Ginger right off the root was more than a little bitter but, to her great and everlasting surprise, just a few moments after she put it under her tongue she felt her stomach start to ease up.

Robin grinned at Alice. It felt like the first time she’d truly smiled in a while. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.

Alice stood up quickly. In the low light, Robin noticed her cheeks were red. “You’re welcome,” she said. “I should go change out of this shirt.”

“Thank you, Alice,” Zelena said as she went to leave.

Alice gave her a quick, soft smile and a wave before she turned the corner and went towards what she could only assume was the direction of her cabin. Robin couldn’t quite deny the disappointment in her chest when she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was two seconds away from being called Robin Mills and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.


	4. A Code of Morals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice has a fight with her father, sees an old friend, and makes a grave error.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has lots of OCs. I apologize for that.  
> These OCs love and adore Alice Jones the way she deserves to be loved and adored and I do NOT apologize for that.
> 
> That being said I'm absolutely addicted to your comments so feel free to tell me if you liked or hated them.

Alice loved when they made port in Wonderland.

It was a small island, only a few miles across, the whole thing could be walked in an entire day if you wanted to, but it wasn’t the size that was important. It was smack dab in the middle of the ocean and hidden by powerful magic. The stories differed as to who cast it depending on who you talked to. Some said a voodoo master had done it as a favor to the first sailors to make land here. Some said the island was part of a curse by a powerful witch. Some said it was the result of a deal with Davy Jones himself. Either way, the end result was the same. You could only find your way to Wonderland if you’d been there before.

But best of all, the entire place was full of pirates.

The markets were loud and colorful, the people more so. Alice had spent a majority of her childhood either on the Jolly Roger or in Wonderland. The ships and people rotated, but the players on the island always remained the same. It was a little late in the day when they’d dropped anchor in the Roger’s usual spot on the docks.

One of the dockhands she recognized looked up as they came in and whooped, waving at them with his whole arm. Alice grinned and waved back. She stood at the front of the bow and drank in all the noise and color and movement that greeted her. Pirates were rowdy by nature but it was still early evening so nobody was in danger of being stabbed. Yet, anyway.

She’d convinced her father to let Robin and Zelena off the boat while everyone else took furlough too. It was a long argument, one of the longer ones she’d ever had with him, but eventually he’d agreed. The worst that could happen, he’d said, was they’d disappear and become someone else’s problem.

Alice agreed and tried to ignore the ache under her ribs when he said that.

 _Robin doesn’t even like you_ , she’d had to strongly remind herself. Never mind that she’d smiled at Alice the other night, pale and clammy from seasickness, and it had still made Alice’s heart beat faster. Robin grumpy and stubborn was cute. Robin smiling wide enough to show a set of dimples was heart-racingly gorgeous. Something she had _definitely_ not confided in her father about.

Alice left the front of the ship behind and went downstairs. The brig was already empty when she walked past it and she tried not to be hurt by that. She knew they weren’t friends, not really, but it was a little disappointing that Robin had stepped off the ship without even a goodbye. She supposed that no matter what sort of bonding she had felt going on before, the other girl _was_ still a prisoner. Maybe she didn’t want to spend her limited free time with Alice.

Ok, it was a lot disappointing.

She walked further into the ship and down another set of stairs into the cargo hold. Her father and Smee were standing in the middle with a large log book in front of them. Billy and another crew member would hold things up from their stashes of loot. Smee would write them down while her father directed them into the piles they were going into. They were separated by things they would sell outright, things they would trade for supplies, and where they would be doing that. The things they were trading and selling here in Wonderland were being brought upstairs in crates.

Alice ducked underneath one of those crates as two more of the crew carried it upstairs onto deck. She grabbed the log book from Smee so he could join the group sorting through everything.

“Thanks, Starfish,” her father smiled briefly at her before going back to work. “We should be done in an hour or so and then you’re free.”

“Robin and Zelena are already off the ship?” she asked as casually as she could.

Her papa gave her a sideways look that told her she wasn’t as successful as she thought. “Aye,” he said. “Let them off about an hour ago. Told them we’d be leaving tomorrow at noon and to be back before that if they planned on leaving with us.”

“Did you take off their cuffs?” she asked.

He had the good grace to look guilty. “We took off Robin’s.”

“Papa!”

“We’re not arguing about this again, Alice,” he said. “If Zelena is half as powerful as I think she is she could destroy this port very easily. We took the chains off, if it makes you feel better. She hid the cuffs under her sleeves like bracelets.”

It really didn’t make her feel better, but she didn’t want to get into another fight with him. They logged and sorted things in companionable silence for a while.

Smee broke the silence. “Oh,” he said, and the tone made her turn to look at him. He was holding a bow in his hands and he looked almost guilty as he stared down at it.

“Something wrong, Mr. Smee?” her father asked.

Smee’s guilty look doubled as he looked up at two very similar pairs of blue eyes staring at him. “Sort of?” he said. “A few days ago Miss Robin asked me about what we had in the cargo hold. She asked if we had this bow. I told her no, because I didn’t think any of the men would have grabbed it.”

Alice’s heart started to beat faster at just the mention of Robin’s name. She put the log book down and walked over to where Smee was. The bow had been sitting with a pair of traveling bags that had been shoved underneath one of the crates. Her papa followed her and the look of surprised recognition on his face made Alice suspicious.

“Papa?” she prodded when he spent a moment too long studying the weapon. “What do you know?”

That seemed to shake him out of it. “Nothing,” he said. “Just deciding which pile to put it in.”

Surprise and indignation reared up inside of her. “None of the piles!” she said. “Those bags are obviously Robin and Zelena’s. We should give them back.”

“The bags, yes.” Her father agreed. “The weapon, no.”

“Why not?”

Her papa looked around. The crew members nearby did a bad job of acting like they weren’t listening in on the conversation. He grabbed her gently by the arm and led her upstairs, away from prying ears.

“Alice,” he said sternly when he stopped them, ironically next to the barred room that usually held their guests. “I am not giving a weapon to a girl who has shown nothing but dislike and outright hatred for my crew. I’m not doing it.”

“Something is important about that bow. And you know what it is,” Alice accused. She could see it all over his face. Her father was a fantastic liar to everyone but her.

For a long moment it seemed like he wasn’t going to answer. Finally, he relented. “I have a suspicion,” he admitted. “We spoke on the deck the other day before the storm. I told her I didn’t like her throwing things at my men and she actually apologized for being angry at Smee.”

The surprise in his voice made her feel the littlest bit smug. “I told you she’s a good person,” she said. “What did you speak about?”

“She said she overreacted because Smee told her we didn’t take something from the Whale that belonged to her father,” he admitted, slow and painful like she was pulling teeth instead of words.

The low build of anger that started in her stomach made her stand up straighter as she put together what her father was saying. “So Smee told her we didn’t have this bow,” she said, just as slowly as he had, “something she told you upset her very much because it belonged to her father. It’s something that obviously means a lot to her. And we’re just _not going to give it back?_ Papa-”

“Stop!”

Alice took two full steps backward in surprise. She could count on one hand the number of times her father had raised his voice at her. All she could do was blink at him.

“We have done nothing but fight from the moment those two stepped onto this ship,” he said fiercely. “I never wanted you to be in this life. I wanted you to keep your good heart. I understand that it’s your good heart that wants to help these people. But they are not our friends, they are not our allies, they are people we are keeping prisoner until we can leave them someplace we know they won’t come back to harm us. But we are done fighting about this, do you understand?”

“Papa!”

“I said no, Alice!” he said firmly. “I refuse to let your infatuation with this girl put our men at risk.”

Alice flinched back like she’d been hit. Even her Papa looked guilty as soon as he said it. Angry tears started to build up behind her eyelids.

“Alice…” He reached up a hand to her and she moved away from him.

“No, you’re right,” she said. “I’m letting some things cloud my judgement. But so are you!”

The sudden change in her tone made him take a step back in surprise as well. “What-“

“You’ve never liked magic,” Alice told him. “You’re terrified that one day mother will show up and destroy the ship, that she’ll take me back, that she’ll try to kill you. And it’s made you fear magic in everyone. But not all people are like her, Papa!”

“I know that –“

“Do you? All this fear and caution you’ve been treating Zelena with. Would you treat me that way as well, if I wasn’t your daughter?”

A spark of anger caught in his eyes. He glared at her. “Don’t accuse me of that. I’d never treat you that way.”

“Then why are those cuffs we took off Zelena not in the pile of things to sell?”

There was a long, heavy moment of quiet between them.

“You think I didn’t notice?” she asked him, voice wobbling with tears. “I notice everything that happens on this ship, Papa. You taught me that.”

“Those cuffs could be useful,” he said quietly. “If your mother showed up again. They’re more powerful than the ones we have and –“

“They’re evil,” Alice told him. This time she couldn’t stop the tears escaping. She scrubbed at her face to make them go away and backed up when he stepped forward to try and hug her. “They’re evil but you’re scared. That’s why you’re keeping them. That’s why you won’t let Robin and Zelena roam around on their own. It’s why you treat Zelena like a mouse treats a cat. You’re right, Papa. We’ve done nothing but fight about this. So maybe we should just stop for a bit.”

For the first time in her entire life, Alice turned and walked away from her father in anger.

 

* * *

 

Alice changed into a nice blue silk shirt, braided the side of her hair, and washed her face to rid it of evidence of tears. By the time she stepped off the Jolly Roger she felt nearly entirely like herself again. It was still disappointing that Robin hadn’t stuck around but she had other friends on this island. Most of them would be in the tavern at this point, so that’s where she headed.

Calling it a “tavern” was giving it slightly too much credit. It was a three-story building used mostly as a brothel, with a bar run out of the ground floor for extra money. Technically you could also rent rooms there, but most people did not use them for sleeping. A loud cheer went up when she bounced her way through the front door and she waved at the group of Jolly Roger pirates in the corner well on their way to being thoroughly smashed.

She turned with a grin to greet Beatrice, the brothel owner and usual bartender, and her entire body froze. Sitting at a table next to the bar itself, with a mug cradled between her hands, was Robin. There were two girls and one of the prettier boys hanging off her – in once case literally draped over her shoulder. Robin’s eyes were wide and she had the cutest little sheepish smile on her face. As Alice watched, one of the girls reached an arm over and ran a finger along Robin’s bandaged shoulder.

A roar kicked up in her chest. Every single nerve ending in her body wanted to jolt forward and kick the chair out from under that girl. She’d never in her entire life experienced such a strong reaction to something. She couldn’t even pinpoint where the emotions were coming from, except that something inside her was going “mine!” with increasing volume and she needed to shut it down. Robin was in no way her property. Robin didn’t even seem to really _like_ her.

“Hello, Miss Alice!” Beatrice shouted.

Alice forced herself to turn her head. One of her father’s men was leaning against the bar talking with Beatrice. They were both looking at her now, Bea with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw Robin’s head whip and look over at them.

It was difficult to walk calmly over to the bar and sit down in front of Bea without looking like every muscle in her body was tighter than a sail in a storm. Bea’s smile got somehow larger when Alice sat down with her body angled conveniently towards Robin’s table.

“Penny for your thoughts, luv,” she said as she slid a mug over to Alice.

“Your girls should wear more clothes.” Alice was nearly growling under her breath. She knocked back half the mug of beer in one go, enjoying the bitter taste it left on the back of her tongue.

“Not really something they’re known for.”

Alice saw the girl smile and lean into Robin a little more. Her fist clenched and she bounced it against her leg. When she looked at them fully neither her nor Robin were looking towards the bar. The other girl and the boy at the table were looking at her, however, and as she caught his eye she recognized them belatedly as Topaz and Onyx. Which were definitely not their real names, but also the only ones she’d ever known them by.

Onyx lifted his arm and waved her over. “Alice, c’mere!”

Alice looked back at Bea, who made a shooing motion with her hands to encourage her forward. She sighed and picked up her mug to walk over.

“You two getting into trouble?” she asked when she got closer. She stood nervously at the other side of their table and shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. For a moment she disliked Robin for making her feel uncomfortable in a place that had always been like a second home to her, but she knew that was unfair.

Onyx smiled wide as he winked at her. “Always,” he said. He nudged Topaz conspiratorially. “T and Sapphire and I were just getting to know your new friend.”

“Friend is a strong word,” Robin said, but she didn’t look at Alice when she said it. “I don’t make a habit of befriending pirates.” The way she spat the last word reminded Alice that she was nothing more than a captor to Robin.

That hurt a little more than it should have. Especially after the fight with her father.

“Hey, some of my best clients are pirates,” Onyx said with a grin.

Sapphire raised a pale, unamused eyebrow at him. “All of your clients are pirates,” she said dryly.

Onyx waved his hand through the air like he was batting away the sentence. “Semantics.”

“Diamond was looking for your earlier,” Topaz added before the other two could get too far into their argument. Alice’s smile felt tight and forced even at the mention of one of her dearest and oldest friends. Topaz narrowed her eyes when she looked at her and then caught someone’s eyes over her shoulder. “Speak of the devil!”

Alice didn’t have time to turn before she felt long, warm arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her backwards. A mass of dark hair slid into her field of view as Diamond pulled her into a hug and put her head on Alice’s shoulder.

“My sun!” her lightly accented voice greeted.

This time Alice’s smile was real when she leaned backwards into the greeting hug. “Hey, you. How’s business?”

Diamond leaned in more and bumped her forehead into Alice like a cat demanding affection. “Business is booming. I saw some of the boys from the Jolly Roger and knew the light of my life was here _not even saying hi to me._ ”

Alice spared a glance at Robin. Her bashful smile had faded and the pretty pink blush she’d been sporting was now a dull red that spread up to her ears. She seemed to be looking hard at Diamond.

“I only just got here!” Alice defended herself weakly.

“Oh, please. The men have been here for hours. You’ve just been doing boring ship work instead of coming to see us. We missed you! You can do boring ship stuff later.” She showered the side of Alice’s face with loud, obnoxious kisses until Alice was giggling helplessly.

“Ok! Ok! Mercy! I’m sorry! I’ll come right away next time!”

Sapphire, who up until this point had been content to just cuddle up behind Robin, took this time to speak up. “So what brings you here today, Little Pirate Queen?” she asked with a glint in her eye that was half teasing and half something sharper. “Visiting, or _visiting_?”

“If she’s visiting she’s mine!” Diamond said immediately. “Isn’t that right, my love?”

Alice could feel her blush extend from her chest to the tips of her ears. She always hated how noticeable it was with her pale skin.

“Ooh,” Diamond laughed and poked at Alice’s red cheek, holding on when she tried to squirm away. “Look at the blush. You always go so red.”

“I need better friends,” Alice whined.

“You do blush so much, though!” Diamond laughed louder. “Do you remember when –“

“No!” Alice cut her off. “No, I don’t remember when. And neither do you! Robin, how do you like Wonderland?”

Robin’s eyes were darting from Diamond to Alice and back so fast she was pretty sure the other girl was going to make herself dizzy. “It’s nice,” she said slowly. “A little loud. Do you guys…does the Jolly Roger come here often?”

Onyx chuckled. “To the town or to the tavern? Because the answer is yes to both.”

“Poor Alice, always so blushy and virginal. You’d think a girl raised by pirates would have thicker skin,” Sapphire quipped.

“Hey!” Onyx reached across Robin to flick Sapphire good-naturedly in the ear. “Be nice.”

“I’m not-“ Alice spluttered. “I’m not blushy and virginal.” As if to directly contradict that, her ears were so hot she felt like steam should be pouring out of them.

“You kind of are.”

“I’m not!”

Green eyes narrowed at that and the little crease between Robin’s eyebrows showed up again when she scowled and took a sip of her beer.

Diamond giggled. “I know. I was there.”

There was a loud thump noise and Robin started to choke and cough on her drink. Sapphire stood up straighter so she wasn’t leaning on Robin anymore and hit her back a few times until she was breathing properly again.

“You all right, newbie?” Topaz asked. She shared a smirk with Diamond over Alice’s shoulder that Alice couldn’t quite figure out.

“Fine,” Robin said after a minute, voice husky in a way that shot right down to Alice’s toes.

Diamond let Alice go, only to grab her hand and start to lead her away from the table. “Come now, little star. These three can keep your new friend company for a while. I’m an old friend and we have a _lot_ of catching up to do.”

She was practically bouncing when she led Alice over to a bench in the corner and immediately sat her down, so she could sit next to her and throw her legs into Alice’s lap.

“You’re very touchy today,” Alice commented.

Diamond grinned at her. “I can’t just miss you?” she asked a smidge too innocently.

One of the men nearby was side-eyeing them enviously and Alice just waved at him. She was used to this by now. Diamond was one of Bea’s top girls, literally _the_ most sought-after woman in the building, and she spent most of her time with Alice whenever the Jolly Roger made port. They’d met as teenagers just after the incident that nicknamed Alice “little pirate queen”, when Diamond was still a barmaid and server (and when she was still just Kaia), and connected instantly. They’d been friends for half of Alice’s life.

Diamond noticed the man and flicked her fingers at him, essentially dismissing his presence. “Ignore him,” she said. “You and I are spending time together. Now answer the question. I can’t just miss you?”

“Of course you can just miss me,” Alice said. “But missing me doesn’t usually mean cuddling me in the middle of the bar.”

“You wound and offend me,” Diamond winked a smoky eye at her in an over-the-top way that made Alice laugh. “But you also caught me out. No, my dear, I’m being so affectionate with you because it makes our new friend so very, very irritated.”

Alice frowned. “What new friend?” she asked. Diamond just grinned at her and tilted her head back the way they came, where Robin’s table was still occupied. “Robin? She’s not – she isn’t –that’s not why she’s irritated!”

“Yes, my love, it is,” Diamond tucked a strand of Alice’s hair behind her ear. “And if I were the jealous type I’d be quite upset by the way you look at her. You like her.”  

Her blush, which had been finally receding, came back full force and she ducked her head down to try and cover it. “A little.”

“A little? A _little_? I am your best friend in the world. Do not lie to me, you want that girl to have her way with you.”

Alice groaned and leaned backwards, covering her face with her hands. “Why are you like this?”

“Because I love you and want you to be happy,” Diamond said seriously, pulling Alice’s hands away from her face. Her grin turned wicked again as soon as they made eye contact. “And because jealousy is a good internal motivator.”

“Robin is not jealous,” Alice argued.

“Alice, sweetheart, I adore you with all of my heart. If looks were daggers that girl would have stabbed me by now.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Please be serious.”

“I’m terribly serious! Look over there right now.”

Alice casually slid her eyes to the side. They still had a clear view of Robin’s table from where Diamond had sat them, which she was starting to think was on purpose. The other girl was certainly looking in their direction, and it wasn’t hard to see from here she was also certainly frowning at them. A tiny flutter of hope started in her chest.

Diamond leaned in towards her neck to whisper and Alice knew what it must look like to an outside observer. “Should I tell her about that thing you like so when she does have her way with you she knows just how to make you –“

The blush was back full force now. “Don’t you dare!” she turned to scold her and was immediately muffled by a small, quick kiss. It was soft and familiar, something they’d done a million times before, and Alice leaned into it briefly before she pulled back. “You’re a brat!” she accused.

Diamond was full-on smirking now. “Yup!” she agreed happily.

Alice slid her eyes over to Robin again. There was no denying it this time. Any more jealous and Robin would be practically green. Alice opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the door to the tavern slamming open.

“Duel!” The man standing in the open doorway shouted, out of breath and sweating. “On the docks. Hook and Ahab!”

Diamond was barely able to get her legs out of Alice’s lap before she shot up to her feet, heart in her throat. Papa? What was he doing dueling with someone? She looked around wildly and noticed Robin was already making her way over to her.

“What’s going on?” she asked the minute she was close enough.

“I don’t know. Papa usually has such a level head.” She bit her lip and worried it between her teeth. “Well, mostly. We had a fight earlier.”

“I’m sure it’s not your fault,” Robin said. Her hand hovered like she was going to put it on Alice’s arm and then she dropped it.

Alice tried to smile at her but was pretty sure she failed miserably.

“Go!” Diamond said, pushing against Alice’s arm to get her moving. “Your father might need backup. And make sure you come back to say goodbye.” She kissed Alice on the cheek and smirked on Robin. “Nice meeting you, green-eyes.”

Robin’s cheeks got pink and she looked away. “You too,” she mumbled. She didn’t meet Alice’s eyes and she didn’t say anything else when Alice grabbed the arm of her shirt and pulled her out the door.

 

* * *

 

There was a thick crowd clustered in the street near the docks when they approached. Alice and Robin looked at each other for a moment before throwing themselves into it, hitting out with elbows and knees to get people to move out of their way. As soon as most of the pirates noticed who it was trying to fight her way through they moved to make room for her. They both burst out of the crowd at the same time several people away from each other.

A large empty space in the middle had been left for the duel. Her papa stood at one end and another pirate, a man she knew only in passing, was standing at the other end. Smee hovered near her father, likely acting as his second. She wanted to call out to him, let him know she was there, but was worried it would only distract him.

It was obviously way past the point where this duel could be stopped.

“This is ridiculous, Hook,” the other man called even as he unbuttoned and took off his jacket. “You said it yourself you don’t even want the woman on your ship. Just hand her over and we’ll go about our lives.”

A gasp sounded next to her. She looked over to see Robin had lost all color in her face and was looking past her Papa. When Alice looked too she saw Zelena behind Smee, a little obviously roughed up. Robin started forward and Alice managed to grab the back of her shirt before she got too far. “Stop,” she whispered.

“Why?” Robin hissed back.

Alice kept a hold on Robin’s shirt just to stop her hand from shaking. “They’re about to start,” she said. “There are rules in this sort of thing. Nothing will happen to your mom right now.”

Robin looked far from convinced but she stopped actively trying to move away.

Her papa handed his own jacket off to Smee and turned with that confident smirk she knew he used to intimidate people. “We all have our own code, Ahab,” he said back. “I promised I’d take her somewhere safe and that’s what I’m doing.”

“That’s the Wicked Witch!” the other pirate, Ahab, shouted back. Murmurs started in the crowd. Robin looked around in confusion. “Do you know the bounty on her head? 10,000 gold!”

The murmurs grew louder.

“We’ll split it,” Ahab continued. “And be rich men.”

To her everlasting pride in her father, all he did was reach down and unclasp his pistol from his belt. “Can’t be rich if you’re dead,” he taunted.

Alice was definitely shaking at this point. All she could see in her mind’s eye was her father losing this duel, and her losing him. They’d fought this morning. She’d walked away with the last words to him being in anger.

Robin looked at Alice and took a step backwards, so Alice’s hand was pressed more firmly against her. The solidness of Robin under her fingers provided a little bit of comfort. “He’ll be ok,” she said under her breath. “This guy seems like he’s all talk.”

It didn’t stop the shaking, but it made her heart feel less like it was cracking. She nodded. Her panic rose more and more as her father and Ahab both lined up across from each other.

“One,” the man standing between them counted. Alice’s grip got so tight she felt like she was ripping a hole in poor Robin’s shirt. She leaned in so she was pressed into Robin and was grateful for the way the other girl didn’t pull away.

“Two.”

She felt like she couldn’t breathe, like her lungs refused to take in enough air. Robin grabbed her hand.

“Three!”

What happened next was too quick for the human eye to follow. All she heard was two simultaneous pistol shots, and all she saw was her father and Ahab drop at the same time.

“PAPA!” Alice let go of Robin and ran. She threw herself down on the ground hard enough for bits of rock to cut into her knees. Smee was already there, leaning over and checking for wounds. “Papa!”

“I’m fine,” her papa said. He lifted himself up with Smee’s help and put a hand on her cheek. “I’m ok, Starfish. Just a nick in the arm.”

“Can’t say the same for Ahab,” Smee said.

Robin had been right behind them, running to her mother instead of Alice's papa, and they all turned to look at Ahab. He was surrounded by his men but from the way his gut was bleeding he would not have the same ability to stand up and walk away.

“We’re done here,” her papa said loudly as he got fully to his feet. The way he was looking at the crowd made it very clear he was talking to all of them. The crowd dispersed slowly but surely, and her papa glared at them with suspicious eyes as they did so. “I’m not going to pretend I know exactly what just happened,” he said lowly, looking at Zelena. “But if I’m to keep my promise to my daughter I think we’d all better leave sooner rather than later. Smee?”

“Sir!” Smee snapped to attention where he’d been staring at the dying Ahab.

“Have we sold and traded everything we wanted to load off here?”

“Mostly.”

Her father grunted. “Good enough. Get word to the men to get back to the Roger. Promise them a double-furlough the next time we stop over in Wonderland for cutting this one short. I want sails raised and out of port by nightfall.”

“Aye, sir!”

Smee ran off to do as he was told and her papa turned to look at the three of them tiredly. Alice saw Robin raise her chin a little in stubborn defiance and had to bite her lip to keep her smile away. Her papa noticed anyway and rolled his eyes at her.

“Should be used to women by now,” he said. “But I’m not.” He started to walk away and stopped when he noticed Robin and Zelena weren’t following him. “You two decided you’re not coming?”

Alice’s heart started to race again at the possibility. She widened her eyes at Robin, who looked back with equally wide eyes and shook her head in confusion.

“You still want us on your ship after all that?” Zelena asked almost angrily.

“I’m a pirate, ma’am,” her papa said. “I’ve no judgement to throw about dark acts. I don’t care what your bounty is as long as it stops bringing trouble to my door.”

“Can’t promise it will.”

“Aye, well, that’s life. Make your decision before nightfall. Starfish?”

Alice went over to his side and he put his arm around her. They walked in silence for most of the way back to the Jolly Roger before they both spoke up at once.

“I’m sorry.”

Her papa frowned. “You? What are _you_ sorry for?”

“You’re right,” Alice said with a blush. “I do like Robin and it’s clouding my judgement. I’m sorry for fighting with you about it. You’re just trying to keep the men safe.”

“You’re young,” her papa said with an affectionate sigh. “And you’re not quite wrong. The girl’s got a temper and her mother is – well, what happened here today doesn’t exactly make me think she’s _not_ dangerous. But they haven’t outright threatened us. I’ll be more lenient if you’ll try to be more clear-headed. Deal?”

Alice grinned. “Deal.” She bumped her hip into his just to hear his laughter.

 

* * *

 

For the way the storm had raged outside just the night before last, the sea was clear and calm that night when they left Wonderland. Alice had helped to gather up the men, taking a moment to stop in and say goodbye to Diamond like she’d asked. The girl had given her a few pointers that made Alice feel like her cheeks were going to explode from blushing, but she’d also given her a long hug and a promise for more time together the next time they came to the island.

Robin and Zelena both seemed subdued when they got back to the ship, and Robin wouldn’t quite look Alice in the eye for a little bit. They were locked up back below deck now, having been allowed to stay above for as long as they wanted with the men. The chain that made Zelena’s cuffs manacles had not been put back on, and Robin’s had not been put back on at all.  

Alice sat in the crow’s nest. She’d offered to do first watch that night. The crisp air and the sound of the ocean always helped her clear her head.

She liked Robin. That was a fact. She thought that girl was gorgeous and had seen enough hints at her personality to know she could be sarcastic, and smart, and genuinely kind. But Robin was not here forever. She wasn’t even here for a long time. And she definitely wasn’t here of her own free will. Whatever Alice felt for her – whatever Diamond had insisted _she_ felt for Alice – it wasn’t something that really had a chance. They were a week and a half out of their next port of call. They would be dropped there and Alice would never seen them again. She would just have to –

Alice interrupted her own internal monologue. There had a been a flicker of movement, out in the blackness of the ocean and sky around them.

She brought her spyglass up to her eye and swept it across in a slow, careful motion the way that her father had taught her.

Nothing.

Or – no – not nothing. She swept it back again. There, just nearby, she thought she saw something. The hint of a hull or a sail. She could feel a tingling along the back of her hand. At first she thought it was a bug, or a string from her shirt, but the tingling got stronger. It traveled up her hand and into her wrist. Then it started in her other hand.

It was her sense of magic.

Alice stood up, ready to warn somebody, and her world exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very genuinely you guys lizardwriter is SUCH a big help. This chapter has BY FAR the most dialogue contributions and suggestions from her. So you should all go read her stuff because she's on here too and she's amazing.
> 
> Also, there have at this point been two very big lines of foreshadowing future events in this story. I'm very curious to see if you guys have caught them.


	5. Fire and Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A desperate battle is fought, a sudden realization is made, and a deal is struck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I tagged this fic with violence? 
> 
> Yup. 
> 
> (Also guess what time it is? Lizardwriter appreciation time.)

For just a moment after Robin woke up she thought she was still trapped in a nightmare of the attack on the Gilded Whale. It was the sounds, mostly. The sudden burst of cannon fire, the sounds of men shouting, the way the ship rocked to the side.

It took a moment for her brain to catch up to the fact that it was real.

She lurched out of bed and immediately started to pull her shoes on. Her mom was standing near the locked door, snapping her fingers and hitting at the padlock with the inside of one of her cuffs.

“Damnit!” she snapped.

Robin finished lacing up her boots and stood up when the boat rocked again. It threw her back down onto the bed. “Mom?” Adrenaline was pushing her heart hard against the inside of her ribs. This time she knew the men attached to the shouts happening above their heads, there were people she knew in trouble in that battle. _Alice_ was in that battle.

“These fucking cuffs!” her mother screamed at the same time the door above them flew open.

Robin stood up again, hands curled into fists and raised in front of her. If she was going to die she was going to go down fighting.

Smee practically crashed into the wall in his hurry to run down the stairs. He scrambled towards them faster than she’d ever seen the man move before and began fumbling with his keys.

“Smee!” Robin half-shouted.

“Out, both of you, come on!” he ordered as he finally got the right key in and snapped open the padlock keeping them shut. He wrenched the door open and waved them out hurriedly. “Your wrists!” They both stood and stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded, until he motioned his hands again. “Your wrists, miss. Hurry!”

Her mom held out her wrists and Smee brought another key off his chain and unlocked the cuffs. They fell to the ground in a very melodramatic way for something that had caused so much trouble.

“Smee, where’s Alice?” Robin demanded.

“Fighting! Letting you go was Captain’s orders,” he said, still heaving to pull in breaths from his run, “Didn’t want you defenseless. Ahab’s men. Gotta get back.” And then he left them, pulling his pistol out of his belt as he charged back up the stairs.

Robin looked back at her mom. “I can help!” she said.

“I know,” Zelena nodded. “I need to stay down here. My magic isn’t going to come back right away, it’s been locked up too long. Get up there and help.” She leaned forward and kissed the side of Robin’s head. “And for God’s sake be careful!”

Robin charged up the stairs two at a time and stepped out into absolute chaos. Smoke from cannon fire on both sides hung in the air. It lit up every time someone fired. All she could smell was the bitterness of gunpowder and all she could hear was the sound of metal scraping against metal as the men of the Jolly Roger defended themselves. All she could see was movement.

She couldn’t see Alice.

No one had noticed her join the battle yet. She turned immediately out of the door and started to climb onto the deck above to get a better view.

Ahab’s ship was alongside them at an angle. This close it looked like they were having trouble getting shots off into the side of the Roger. Most of the damage from the attack seemed to come from the gunshots and bottles of fire being thrown over by Ahab’s men. Several of them started to board as she climbed up. One jumped down from their rigging to land nearby and when he steadied himself he lifted his arms. The minute Robin saw what he had in his hands she lunged at him, catching him in a tackle just above his knees.

He shouted as he fell onto the deck and twisted around to kick at her. Robin let him go and rolled away, up onto her knees so she could throw a punch into his gut and another at his face. He knocked her hand away before the punch to his head could connect and swung back, trying to get his bearings again, but she got up first. She grabbed a handful of hair at the back of his head and swung her knee up hard. The blow connected with a dull, almost hollow sound against his head and he crumbled to the ground bonelessly. She stooped to pick up the weapon he’d dropped.

With a bow in her hands and arrows on her back, she suddenly felt much more confident in the situation. Standing on the deck and adjusting to the movements felt just like when she’d taught herself to shoot riding a horse. One of Ahab’s men noticed she’d taken out his friend and turned towards her. She brought the bow up and shot almost before she’d fully stopped to aim, confident that the bow would be in place by the time she shot the arrow. It flew and hit his chest. She turned and let loose another two shots in quick succession that took out two men swinging over to board. They lost their grip and fell into the sea below. Another turn, another arrow, and the man trying to get up behind Smee went down with an arrow in his shoulder.

Now some of the men from the Jolly Roger started to notice she’d joined them. One nearby grinned fiercely at her, face covered in blood.  She took another moment to get her bearings and scan the battle again. There were several men standing on the edge of the other ship taking pot shots into the crowd of pirates. She’d have to take them out next.

She ran towards the side of the ship and stopped to aim at the closest one. He noticed her just before she loosed the arrow. It wasn’t enough time to react before he fell back with a shot to the gut. The second man took two in the arm. The third got a shot at her as she lined up her next arrow. Only pure reflex had her moving to the side in time to send it flying past her close enough to rip open her shirt along the arm. Her shoulder was throbbing at this point, too hurt and abused to be able to keep up shooting arrow after arrow like this. She could feel the muscles pull and tear every time she brought the bowstring back. The last archer on the other side took a shot to the face at the same time one of the men nearby shouted, “Captain!”

Robin turned to look. Hook was on the upper deck on his own, engaged in a fierce and dirty swordfight with the second guy from the duel earlier. Ahab’s second had locked their hilts together and started to drag them both back towards the edge of the ship, shoving Hook hard against the waist-high railing, trying to force him overboard. Robin brought her bow up again, ignoring the way it set the muscles in her arm nearly on fire to do so, and focused. Everything around her seemed to slow. The noise, the movement, the chaos – it all stopped mattering. When she released the arrow she didn’t have to look to know she’d hit her mark, but she did anyway.

Ahab’s second went down with an arrow in his throat.

Hook looked over, eyes wide, and saw her lowering her bow. He lifted his chin in a solemn nod at her and she nodded back. He motioned behind her and she turned and brought the edge of her bow up underneath the chin of the man coming up behind her. He fell backwards and one of the men stabbed into him for her. Someone moved to her left and she had an arrow nocked and brought up to her chin to aim before she finished turning.

Wide blue eyes greeted her.

“Alice!” Robin dropped her arms immediately and had to resist the urge to drop the bow entirely and pull the other girl into a hug.

“Duck!” Alice said. Robin followed the order instinctively and Alice swung her sword above her head, cutting a long slash across the chest of the guy coming up behind her. Robin spun around on her knee and stabbed an arrow into his thigh. She swung to the side as he screamed and Alice kicked him away.

Robin popped back up to her feet and shared a wild, almost feral grin with Alice. “You any good with that sword?” she taunted.

The other girl winked and swung her sword in a lazy circle. “Depends. How good are you with that bow?”

Two of Ahab’s men rushed them at once. Alice ducked and used her shoulder to flip one of them onto his back. She stood and stabbed into the other man’s gut in the same fluid motion, as Robin slammed the side of her fist into the first man’s throat.

“Ok,” Robin said afterwards, a little breathless at the sight of Alice highlighted by smoke and fire with her sword dripping a line of blood onto the deck. “We’ll call it about even?”

Alice let out a nearly hysterical laugh and then stumbled as the entire ship groaned around them. Robin nearly dropped her bow to grab onto her and steady her. There was a loud snap of wood. Metal started to pull and scream as it was torn from it’s holdings. It sounded like a dying beast. A wood beam nearby burst apart suddenly and showered them with splinters. Alice ducked to avoid them and Robin stepped forward without thought to curl her body protectively over the other girl.

“What’s happening?” Alice shouted, almost dropping her sword to cover her ears.

“The ship!” one of the Jolly Rogers men shouted, pointing behind them. “Look at the ship!”

They both turned to look, Robin’s arm still half-raised as a shield. Green sparks were dancing along the entirety of Ahab’s ship. As they watched one of them brightened almost too much to look at and when it did the part of the ship it was hovering over imploded downwards. The ship was destroying itself.

No, Robin realized, as she turned wide-eyed towards the door leading to the cargo hold. Her _mom_ was destroying it. 

Zelena stood highlighted by smoke in the open doorway, her hands raised and curled almost into claws. Green light like liquid fire ran up and down her forearms and when she brought both her hands down at once Ahab’s ship gave a great shudder and broke apart down the middle.

The whole battle went completely silent. No one moved or made a sound. It was doubtful that anyone was even breathing at that point. Then someone, she wasn’t sure who, raised his sword into the air and shouted, “YEAH!”

The rest of the crew of the Jolly Roger joined in, whipping their swords around over their heads and firing into the air. Her mom looked almost sheepish at all the celebration for a moment before she lifted her chin proudly with a small smirk. The crew of Ahab’s ship, what remained of them, very smartly started to lay down their weapons.

“Holy shit, we won,” Robin said, finally moving away from Alice, no matter how much she wanted to move closer now that the adrenaline was starting to go.

“ _We_ won?” Alice smiled this soft little smile that Robin’s still frantically turning brain couldn’t quite understand.

“Yeah, we won,” Robin insisted. “The Roger is still standing!”

Alice jolted to the side as Hook ran over to them and pulled her into a tight hug with one arm, kissing the top of her head. Robin could see the smile he was sending her way even through the mass of blonde hair currently covering his mouth. “Nice work with that bow, lass,” he told her.

Robin tried not to puff herself up too proudly. She didn’t quite succeed.

Hook didn’t let go of Alice as he turned to raise his voice to the crew. “Lock them up, put them in the brig, we’ll decide what to do with them later. A group of men to inspect the hull for damage. Everyone who needs patching up to Archie. Well done, men!”

“Put them in the brig?” Zelena’s voice sounded behind them. “There’s not enough room.”

All three of them turned to look at her. Robin went over and put her arm around her mom’s waist. She looked pale and a little shaky, and Robin couldn’t even imagine what that must have taken out of her. It was weird that they were almost the same height when she put her arm around Robin’s shoulders and leaned into her gratefully.

“Only six or seven still standing,” Hook said with more than a hint of smugness in his voice. “Brig can handle that.”

“Not with us in it,” Zelena argued.

Hook shrugged with the arm not currently around his daughter. “You’re not going to be in it,” he said.

Robin blinked and looked at her mom. She did not look any less confused than Robin did. “We’re not?” Robin asked.

“You,” Hook said, pointing his hook at Robin, “took out ten men on your own, and saved my own damn skin from being thrown overboard.” This looked like it was news to Alice, who immediately looked at Robin with bright, thankful eyes. Robin ducked her head a little into her mom’s shoulder. “And you,” Hook continued, moving to point even more emphatically at Zelena, “did _that._ ” He swept his arm violently towards where the wreckage of Ahab’s ship was still sinking behind them. “You’re not going back in the brig. Smee!”

Smee appeared almost out of nowhere. Robin jumped.

“Aye, Captain?”

“Sorry to say, lad, but you’re losing your cabin for a while. The ladies will need a place to sleep now.”

Smee grinned at them. “Was gonna offer it myself anyway.”

“Can we go there now,” Robin asked, feeling her mom get heavier against her in a way she didn’t like. A quick glance over showed she looked about two seconds from passing out on the spot. “I think mom needs to rest a little.”

“I’m fine,” Zelena patted Robin’s hand on her waist. “I’ll be ok. I just need to sit down.”

“Follow me, ladies,” Hook said. He kept his arm around Alice as he led them through the crowd of crewman moving back and forth. Most of them seemed to be standing quite well on their own two feet. One or two of them were being supported by other crewmembers. Several were already tying ropes to themselves as they swung over the side of the ship to inspect the sides of the hull for any damage.

They walked down the stairs, then moved across the room that held the brig to the opposite side. A long hallway stretched down it with two doors. “You might recognize that as the infirmary,” Hook gestured to the door on the right, then the one on the left. “That’s Smee’s cabin there.” He opened it for them.

It was much bigger than the brig, and infinitely bigger than the cabin they’d been given on the Gilded Whale. There was actual breathing and moving space here. A real bed was in the corner. It was a little bit messy, some half-full and completely empty bottles lying around, one corner was completely covered in clothes, but it was much nicer than anything Robin could have hoped for.

“Smallest of the three individual cabins,” Hook said. “But should suit you a bit more than before.”

Robin helped her mom over to the bed and sighed gratefully when she sat down on it.

“Thank you, Captain,” Zelena said tiredly. She rubbed a hand down the side of her face. “Tell Smee we appreciate it.”

Hook finally detached himself from Alice to go around lighting the lanterns in the room for them. It made everything a little warmer and cozier. Robin swayed on her feet as everything started to catch up with her. Suddenly she was exhausted, the bone deep kind of tired that snuck up on you, and her shoulder was throbbing worse than before. She could feel it with every heartbeat and it made her wince.

“You’re sitting down, too,” Alice said sternly. All she had to do was push her hand lightly on Robin’s shoulder to try and move her and it made her hiss in pain. Alice pulled her hand back immediately.

“It’s ok!” Robin assured her, even as she took her advice and sat down. “The shoulder wasn’t up to archery just yet.”

Alice looked almost ashamed as she looked around at them. “I’m sorry, Papa,” she said. He turned to look at her, confused, and she frowned at herself. “I didn’t see them coming. They were hiding themselves with some kind of magic. I didn’t notice them until it was too late.”

“It’s not your fault!” Robin and Hook said at the same time. They glanced at each other.

“It was a cloudy, moonless night,” Hook continued. “You would have been hard pressed to see them even without magic.”

Alice shrugged like she didn’t quite believe that. “Still,” she said. “Whatever it was, it was a useful spell. I should learn that trick.”

Robin frowned when she felt her mom stiffen next to her. She turned her head to see her mom staring hard at Alice. “Mom?”

“Alice, come here,” her mother said firmly. She held out her hand and motioned with her fingers, doing it again impatiently when Alice hesitated. When Alice put her hand in Zelena’s she immediately pulled her forward and placed her palm back against Robin’s wounded shoulder.

“Hey!” Alice tried to move back but her mom held on, gentle but firm. Hook stood in the corner looking conflicted, like he wasn’t sure if he should step in or not.

“In the infirmary there are several books on the human body,” her mom said, sounding much more awake now. “Have you read them?”

Alice was confused enough now that she didn’t try to step away. Honestly, so was Robin. “Yes,” Alice said.

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a picture in one of them of the muscles in the body? Like the shoulder?”

Whatever her mom was doing, Alice was starting to understand. She stepped forward a little closer. Robin’s body started to buzz and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with magic. “Yes,” Alice said, nodding eagerly.

“Close your eyes,” her mom instructed. “Picture that image very clearly. Imagine the muscles knitting together and moving back into place. Keep that vision at the forefront of your mind. Do you have it?”

“Yes,” Alice said, eyes closed and smiling.

“Excellent. Now that brightness you feel in the back of your mind? Put both hands on my daughter’s shoulder and push it forward.”

Alice lifted her other hand to move it next to the first. Her fingertips brushed against skin through the rip in Robin’s sleeve from the near-miss with the enemy archer earlier. She smelled of smoke and copper when she leaned closer and Robin’s pulse started to race in her ears. She barely noticed the pleasant, almost comforting warmth building up in her shoulder. It felt like sitting too close to a fire.

Suddenly, there was a sharp stab of pain, and then absolutely no more pain whatsoever.

Robin stared in shock at the hands on her shoulder and then up at Alice, who was looking down at her with almost childlike delight.

“What just happened?” Robin asked.

“Magic,” Zelena said smugly. “A massive amount of untapped and untrained potential. Alice just cast her first healing spell.”

“I fixed her shoulder?” Alice asked breathlessly. She stepped back so Robin could test that out, moving her arm up and down and then in a full circle. There was no ache, no pull or sharp pain, no sensation of muscles tearing or bones grinding against each other. Robin laughed and swung her arm around again just because she could. Alice smiled wider. “I fixed your shoulder!”

Zelena was watching Hook with shrewd eyes as he moved closer to them. “Did you know?” she asked.

“Of course,” Hook said. “But it’s not like it’s easy to find someone to teach her things like that. Regular schooling was hard enough to do as it was.”

“I have a proposition for you, Captain,” her mom said, sitting up a little. The whole experience seemed to have put more color in her cheeks. “Are you still planning on dropping us off at the next port of call?”

Hook narrowed his eyes like he knew what she was about to say. “Aye.”

“Take us to the Enchanted Forest. Safe passage across the sea, and I teach Alice everything she needs to control her magic.”

Alice stood up straight like she’d been shot. She whipped her head to look at her father with wide, pleading eyes that were definitely working on Robin so she had no idea how they weren’t working on him. “Papa!” she said.

“It’s more than three months off of our course,” Hook argued.

Robin frowned. “Whale said it was only two.”

“Whale lied. He was never intending on taking you across.”

Hook and her mother stared hard at each other for so long she wasn’t sure either of them was going to break first. Finally, his shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep, steadying breath. “Can you really teach her control in that time?”

“Well she’s not going to be pulling anything like what I just did,” her mom admitted. “But control? Yes. She’ll have an iron grip on her powers by the time we make landfall, or my name isn’t Zelena Mills.”

They looked at each other for another long moment before he held out his hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

They shook, and Robin felt the path of her life change.

 

* * *

 

The sound of the men celebrating was a dull roar of background noise below deck. It certainly wasn’t enough to stop her mother from sleeping like the dead. Robin sat up in a chair Smee had put in the corner of the cabin, knees pulled to her chest, and watched her.

Robin had grown up knowing the person her mother had been and the person she was trying to be now were practically different people entirely. She’d had a vague, somewhat distant idea of her mother doing bad things, but it had never fully formed at the front of her mind. She always thought if she did bad things it must have been to bad people. Zelena had told her that she no longer did big magic because it wasn’t safe – the Duke had made sure of that.

Well, Robin was starting to wonder how much of a hand her mother had in making it that way. Now that she was going to be teaching Alice magic, Robin was sure she was going to find out more soon.

Her mind skittered off her mother and onto the blonde girl that, if she was being honest, was never too far from her thoughts anyway. She and Hook had left to let them rest about an hour ago, but Robin couldn’t sleep. Alice had seemed to be blaming herself for not seeing the attack coming and Robin could sympathize, because all she kept doing was going over and over the last few minutes before they’d left port and wondering if she had seen something – or hadn’t seen something, maybe – that could have warned her what Ahab’s men were going to do.

She’d been much too distracted leaving port, though.

As the men had been getting the ship ready to go Robin had stalled on the docks, not quite ready to give up her brief and tantalizing taste of freedom so soon. It was just as she had convinced herself to get back on the ship that a hand had tugged at her sleeve and she’d turned to look at who it was.

Diamond. Alice’s friend. Her very pretty, not at all jealousy-inducing friend. She’d stood there in a blue and silver hooded cloak, almond-shaped eyes perfectly done up with makeup, with a smug smirk on her glossy lips, and Robin had never disliked someone so intensely in her life.

“A word, green-eyes?” she’d asked in that low, accented voice.

Robin had had a few words in mind for her but none of them were pleasant ones. She’d crossed her arms and frowned, tried to put on her best intimidating scowl. “What do you want?”

“Ooh, irritable,” the other girl had teased, smirking wider. “I wanted to talk to you about our girl.”  She walked away a few steps and crooked her finger to beckon Robin to follow.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a girl. I don’t have my freedom, the minute I step foot on that ship.”

“And yet you’re going back,” Diamond looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her. “Come on, now. A private word, please.”

 Robin didn’t really see how she had a choice in the matter. She followed off the docks and a few hundred feet away, where Diamond spread her cloak out behind her as she perched on a rock. Robin stayed standing. “Ok, we’re here,” she grumbled when Diamond just watched her with amused eyes. “Talk.”

Diamond surprised her by laughing like Robin had told a particularly good joke. Robin _detested_ how much it sounded like actual bells. She laughed until she had to brush away a tear from the corner of her eye and the longer it went on the more irritated Robin got.

“ _What_?” she snapped finally.

“Nothing,” Diamond wiped away a few more mirthful tears from her cheeks and finally seemed to get a hold of herself. “You’re just so stubborn. You’re perfect!”

Of all the sentences that Robin expected to come out of her mouth, that wasn’t one of them. “Sorry?”

Grey eyes the color of storm clouds glinted at her and a delicate hand reached out to her. “Here, sorry, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Kaia.”

“Robin Mills,” she said, shaking her hand almost out of reflex. “I thought you were Diamond?”

“Diamond is a very influential person who works in a brothel in the most dangerous pirate port this side of the great sea,” the other girl said. “Kaia is a very dear friend of Alice’s, and that’s who’s talking right now.”

“Friend,” Robin deadpanned back at her.

“Yes, my dearest and oldest friend. The only person who looks at me and doesn’t see the way I make my money. So watch your tone,” Diamond – Kaia? – said sharply.

Robin blinked in surprise and immediately felt ashamed of herself. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry.”

The amused glint was back. “Good girl. I just wanted to talk about Alice with you for a moment.”

“Talk away. I’m sure you know more than I do.”

“Like how her mouth tastes?” Kaia quipped, and laughed when Robin went flush with irritation. “Sorry, you’re just so easy to needle. Relax. It was just a friendly peck.”

“I’ve got nothing to relax about. I don’t care what you do with Alice.”

“Come now, you and I both know you only want to tear my throat out because you think I have her and you don’t.”

Robin set her chin. “No.”  

“Stubborn and a bad liar. Never play cards, green-eyes.” 

Robin growled under her breath and clenched her fists against her arms where they were crossed. “Listen if all you did was pull me over here to make fun of me –“

“She likes to be kissed just beneath her ear,” Kaia interrupted. “And she’s a sucker for a bad pun. And if you bring her something sweet she’ll love you forever. Also, and don’t tell her I told you this, but she is incredibly ticklish on her right side just below her ribs.”

Robin’s brain didn’t know what to do with that information and neither did her heart. It started to beat a wild rhythm along the inside of her chest.

Kaia leaned forward, bracing her elbows against her knees, and all the mirth and teasing dropped off her face when she locked eyes with Robin. “Alice is one of the most important people in the world to me. She has a good and precious heart, Robin Mills.”

Robin swayed back a little, overcome by the sudden intensity. “I know that,” she said quietly.

“Do you? Because most people don’t look past the word pirate long enough to see it.”

Robin ducked her head a little like protecting her neck would also protect her from this conversation. Kaia looked away, towards where the Jolly Roger was crawling with men like ants, and Robin looked with her. There was a flash of blonde hair halfway up one of the masts.

“She took everything the world threw at her, every sword and sharp word, every twist of fate,” Kaia said softly. “And it only made her kind. She refuses to see anything but the best in people. Even the stubborn ones. It takes someone special to grow up in the world of pirates making friends with bar maids and ladies of the night and maintain their innocence, but that’s Alice. She’s faced a lot and she hasn’t let it come at the expense of her pure heart.”

Robin frowned at the ground and dug the tip of her boot into the dirt. “What do you want from me?” she mumbled.

“I want you to protect her good heart,” Kaia said with a shrug, as simply as if she was asking Robin to sweep a floor.

“That’s not my job,” Robin argued.

When Kaia stood up off the rock the amused glint was back full force. She reached out and patted Robin’s cheek almost affectionately. “Sure,” was all she said.  “Remember, if you hurt her you’ll never see me coming.”

Robin spluttered, “I’m not going to hurt her!” she defended. She clenched her jaw around those words – confused, since that wasn’t entirely what she meant to say. She felt like she’d just been threatened for ten minutes without even realizing it, but also weirdly encouraged somehow.  

Kaia’s smirk got somehow – impossibly – got bigger. “Now that that is out of the way,” she said, brushing her hands off on her skirt, “on to more important things. I already told you about the neck and the ribs, but the inside of her wrists are _really_ sensitive and if you take your time –“

“Nope,” Robin turned bright red and spun on the spot to start stalking back towards the Jolly Roger. “It was nice meeting you, Kaia. Goodbye.”

Kaia’s laughter rang out behind her louder than before and as Robin pulled herself out of her memories it transformed into the men laughing above. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her forehead.

Her feelings for Alice at this point were as unavoidable as the push and pull of the waves around them. It was pointless and frankly stupid to try and deny that they existed. The cure for them was not going to be sitting here and staring into space. She was going to go upstairs, find Archie, and hope he had something that would knock her out so that she could stop thinking for a while.

She didn’t bother being quiet when she swung open the door into the hallway. There was nothing that was going to wake her mother at this point besides the morning sun. She closed the door firmly behind her, turned, and ran directly into the person she’d just decided to try and stop thinking about.

“Alice!” she said, surprised and breathless.

Alice looked equally surprised, bouncing back onto her heels and rocking forward again, her hands held quietly behind her back. “Robin! I thought you would be asleep.”

“My body is tired, but my brain isn’t,” Robin admitted. “I was going to see if Archie had anything to help.”

“Oh! Of course, I’m sure he has something.”

Alice seemed nervous, almost jittery as she bounced back and forth from one leg to the other. She also didn’t take her hands out from behind her back. Robin frowned.

“Did you need something?” she prompted.

“We found your things,” Alice blurted out at the same time. She brought one hand out and handed Robin the bag she’d had when she’d left their house. It was a little more worse for wear than the last time she’d seen it. “Your mother’s bag is still somewhere in the cargo hold, but it’s there too.”

“Thank you,” Robin said. She took the bag gratefully. She couldn’t deny it would feel nice to get out of borrowed clothes and into something of her own again. “Small miracles, I guess.”

Alice ducked her head and looked up at her underneath long eyelashes. Robin’s heart stuttered in her chest at the sight.

“We found this too,” she said quietly, and brought her other arm out.

Robin had had a long day. That was the only reason she would admit to that she started to cry almost immediately at seeing the bow in Alice’s hands. Her chest ached when she dropped the bag carelessly to the floor and reached out to it with both hands.

“My dad’s bow,” she said, taking a few deep and steadying breaths. “But Smee said –“

“Smee didn’t know.” Alice’s eyes looked a little bright too, as she watched Robin cradle the bow to her chest. “We found it with the rest of your things when we were doing inventory in Wonderland. One of the men must have just grabbed everything at once.”

Robin ran her hand up and down the wood, fingers dipping into every familiar curve and rough edge. Her hands were shaking just a little, and she couldn’t tell if it was from emotional overload or exhaustion or what. Alice looked absurdly proud of herself, standing in the hallway hugging one arm to her body with the other. Robin felt a burst of affection so strong it took her breath away.

“Thank you, Alice,” she said. “Not just for this.” She leaned the bow very carefully against the wall, took a half step forward, and pulled Alice into her arms.

There was a muffled squeak of surprise before Alice returned the hug. She stood up on her tip-toes to put her chin on Robin’s shoulder and let go of her own arm to hug back tightly. “You’re welcome,” she said, the words slightly muffled against the fabric of Robin’s shirt.

They stood there together for a moment, the gentle motion of the boat rocking them slightly side to side, and Robin fought the urge to let her body sink into the hug. It was so nice and Alice smelled so good, like soap and something warm like cinnamon. It was comforting, and Robin craved that comfort more than she realized. She drew back a little after a bit, afraid to look to desperate to keep holding on. Alice stayed in her space, looking up from under those long lashes again, and she almost seemed to lean back into the hug again before she stepped back. Her hands trailed away from Robin’s back and down her arms as she did so.

The hallway was dark and intimate, the men upstairs nothing but background noise, and Robin had to physically force herself to step away. Whatever she felt for Alice, she _ached_ with it.

“Think you can sleep now?” Alice asked quietly, concerned.

Sleep? Robin wasn’t even sure she could breathe. But she nodded anyway and the lines of Alice’s face smoothed into a smile as she bid her goodnight. That was a reward in and of itself. She stepped back into the room, shut the door behind her, and realized she was screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin, watching Alice eviscerate a pirate with a sword: i should not be into this????
> 
> Heard you wanted battle girlfriends. I gave you battle girlfriends.


	6. Magic Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice gets her first lesson in controlling her magic, Robin lightens up a little, and the girls grow closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before this point the POV chapters were 1/1, with each new chapter being a flip in POV. from this point it'll be a little more mixed up, with robin sometimes getting a few in a row and then alice getting a few in a row. it will be made very clear at the beginning of the chapter who's POV it is.

“Concentrate, Alice.”

“I am concentrating!”

It was a beautiful day for the beginning of summer. Clear and cloudless skies, calm waters, a steady wind. The men were all enjoying a day when the ship practically sailed itself. Her father was taking to the time to plot out their next course, Smee was re-doing the inventory, and Alice –

Alice was standing on the top deck and trying to make lights appear.

Robin chuckled nearby, and Alice’s already shaky focus broke entirely. She dropped her hands from where they’d been hovering in front of her face and turned to glare at the other girl.

“What?” Robin asked with an innocent raise of her eyebrows.

“You mother needs me to concentrate. You’re not helping!” Alice said.

“I’m just sitting here making arrows!” Robin held up the wood in her hands like she was trying to prove her innocence.

Alice huffed and turned away to look back at Zelena. “Sorry, can we start again?”

Zelena was just looking at her. Her eyes, the same shape if not the same color as her daughter’s, were sparkling with amusement in a way that made Alice feel like there was some sort of joke she wasn’t getting. “Of course,” she said, pressing her lips together like she was trying to hide a smile. “We can kick my daughter off the boat if you’d like.”

“Hey!”

Alice giggled and shook her head. It wasn’t Robin’s fault that just sitting there was distracting to her. The other girl had stripped down to a shirt she had cut the arms off of, and all the sun she had been getting lately had tanned her skin and dotted it with freckles along her shoulders. They were exceedingly adorable, and it was difficult for Alice to stop herself from thinking about playing connect-the-dots with her tongue.

_None_ of which Zelena needed to know about at all.

After the battle with Ahab’s men, most of whom had been sent off to a watery grave and the rest who had surrendered and joined the crew of the Roger, Robin had offered to teach the men how to shoot. Robin’s appearance in the middle of the battle had turned the fight drastically in their favor and it was something her papa had agreed to almost immediately, so they’d scavenged some weapons from Ahab’s ship, as well as lots of bits of wood, and Robin had set about making mock arrows. They wouldn’t hurt someone when they missed, Robin had explained to Alice one night when she’d started making them, and if you could learn to hit a mark with an unbalanced arrow you could hit it with anything; as if Alice had been paying any attention at all to her words and not the way her hands moved as they twisted and carved the wood.

Zelena cleared her throat and Alice shook her head like she was clearing her ears of water. “Ok,” she said, clapping her hands together and holding them up with renewed concentration. “So, magic lights.”

“First spell anyone ever gets taught,” Zelena said. “They’re easy, harmless, and damned useful. Now what I want you to do is find that spot of magic in the back of your mind again.”

It wasn’t necessarily in the back of her mind, but rather in the middle of her chest. It was always there like a glowing, living thing that resided next to her heart. Zelena had taught her to reach out to it like she was taking a drink of water, emptying it and letting it flow into her fingertips. She did that now. She enjoyed the tingle along her skin as it happened.

“Good,” Zelena’s voice dropped lower, becoming an encouraging background hum. “Now imagine balls of light the size of your fist, as many as you can make, and push the magic out to create them.”

Alice imagined them. She pictured them dancing across the deck like ball lightning, plotting constellations like stars across the wood. The tingling in her fingertips became almost a buzz. She thought she heard a snap as she released it and it disappeared like a shot. She opened her eyes to see the results and threw her arm over them immediately, blinded.

“Shit!”

There was a muffled shout from the men and Alice immediately willed the lights away. The bright white light she could still see behind her eyelids went out. She opened her eyes looked over at Zelena, who was staring at her with an inscrutable look at on her face.

“You said as many as I could make,” Alice defended herself, voice small.

“I’m not mad!” Zelena hurried to say. “Do it again. Maybe _not_ as many as you can make this time?”

Alice frowned at the men who were still looking at her, a little wary and a little wonderous. “Sorry!” she offered again, ashamed.

“That was _brilliant_ ,” Robin enthused from her spot nearby. She looked like she was still blinking spots out of her eyes, but her smile was wide when she grinned at Alice and it made those damnable dimples appear. Alice’s heart stuttered.

“Ok,” she said, suddenly more nervous than before. This time she thought of three lights instead, soft and glowing like candles, and no one was more surprised than her when they popped into existence immediately. They hovered a few feet away from her, swaying back and forth with the breeze.

“Perfect!” Zelena said. “Now one of the most useful reasons for learning this spell first is control. So, I want you to take those balls of light and I want you to move them.”

Alice still had her hand up pointing in the direction of the lights. She looked over her shoulder at Zelena skeptically. “All together or separately?” she asked.

“All together at first is okay.”

The lights still felt like a part of her, just a distant part. Little pinpricks of energy nearby. She thought of them moving up towards the crow’s nest at the top of the main mast. They hovered in place for a long enough moment that Alice was sure they weren’t going to obey before very slowly and ponderously starting to raise up. Alice looked back at Zelena and grinned.

“Good! Now,” Zelena lifted her own hand and a soft green ball of light appeared. “Follow the leader.”

It was difficult. The balls of the light didn’t want to do exactly what she told them to. It was a little like what Alice would imagine herding a cat was like. The trick seemed to be to make them think it was their idea to move in that direction. Zelena’s light moved in quick, precise movements through the air and Alice’s would follow behind like clumsy toddlers. The longer the lights stayed without fading, the more confident Alice felt, and the easier it was to get them to move quicker.

As the lights moved over near Robin, who had gone back to whittling her arrows a while ago, the green one stopped to hit her lightly on the top of her head before it moved past her. Robin couldn’t quite hide her smile even as she waved it away like a bug. Alice’s lights had other ideas. Two of them moved on to keep up with the game. The third settled around Robin’s face, bopping at the side of her head and nuzzling her cheek. Alice blushed, because she knew she wasn’t actively trying to make the light do that, but she wasn’t sure it wasn’t doing it because of her anyway. Zelena had said any magic she created would always carry a bit of herself in it.

Robin grinned at it and chased it away with her hand. It stayed cuddled in her palm for a moment before darting off to join its siblings.

“Excellent work, Alice,” Zelena said when she’d brought a stop to the game with all the lights hovering together in the center of the deck. She twisted her hand and the green ball disappeared. “Now make them move separately.”

Alice dropped her hand, arm sore and generally discouraged, and frowned at Zelena. “I could barely get them to move where I wanted to all at once!” she argued.

Zelena gave her a firm look. “But you did make them do it. Or do you want to stop for the day?”

The challenge in her voice made Alice’s shoulders roll back with determination. Her spine stiffened, and she glared at the three balls of light. “I can do it,” she said stubbornly. She nudged them forward with her mind, telling one to go up and the others to go out to either side.

They all moved up at first. It was like they were remembering that she’d spent the last ten minutes making them move as one. Then slowly, so slowly she wasn’t sure it was happening at first, they started to drift apart. That one particular light started to move over to Robin and she reigned it back in. _Knock it off_ , she told it sternly, and could have sworn it brightened momentarily like it was talking back to her.

Just like last time the longer they moved the quicker they got. Soon they were darting around each other, hopping over and under like they were playing a game of tag. She was just starting to grin with the exhilaration of it all when there was a whistling sound and one of the mock arrows flew past one of her balls of light.

“Hey!” Alice whipped around to look at Robin with surprise and indignation.

Robin was smirking at her as she slowly lowered her bow. She looked smug, and it irritated her how much she wanted to kiss that smirk right off her face. “So close!” Robin said.

Alice crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. The she very slowly started to grin. “Ok, Mills,” she said, lifting her hands with a flair and a hint of challenge. “We can play that game.” The lights started to move again, this time faster, bobbing up and down and darting left to right.

Robin started to grin right back. She nocked a mock arrow and sighted along her bow, her arms moving in time with Alice’s lights. This time when she shot an arrow it successfully nicked the side of one. Alice started to laugh. Excitement and energy bubbled up from in her chest as she summoned more and sent them moving around.

It turned into another game. Robin would try and shoot the balls of light and Alice would try and make whichever one she targeted dodge just in time. Whenever an arrow would connect she would tell the ball it hit to disappear. It usually did so with a dramatic little pop and sizzle. They were both giggling a little too hard for Robin to be able to hit as many as she probably could, and Alice definitely wasn’t able to make as many lights dodge the incoming projectiles. Zelena sat to the side and watched, just smiling at them.

“Come on, Robin!” Alice taunted as another arrow missed. “I thought you were really good at that. Need me to move the lights a little slower for you?”

“Can you?” Robin teased back. “Is your control even good enough for that?”

She barely even had to prompt one of the lights to go harass Robin. She was pretty sure it was the same one from before that broke off the pack to dive-bomb and bounce off her shoulders and ears.

“Hey! Cheating!”

“Not cheating!” Alice giggled. “There are no rules on the open sea!”

“Pirate!” Robin shouted back, voice warm and teasing. 

Alice felt a warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with her magic. She remembered very clearly when that had been used as an insult, spat like a curse and followed up with a glare. Now Robin was ducking under the harassment of the light Alice made, eyes twinkling as she laughed. The lights brightened almost imperceptibly, and she waved a hand to dismiss most of them. They blinked out of existence except Robin’s new best friend, the one little light that hid behind her bicep like a child that didn’t want to go to bed.

Zelena stood up from where she had been sitting watching them. “Enough practice for today, I think. You can have the rest of the day. Good job, Alice.”

“Thank you,” Alice said, puffing her chest out with pride.

Robin wandered over as her mother left and punched her lightly in the shoulder. “Good job, Alice,” she teased, in a decent impression of her mom’s voice.

Alice stuck her tongue out at her. She squinted at the little ball of light that was still hiding behind Robin. “I think that one likes you more than me,” she said.

“Yeah, it’s my buddy!” Robin said enthusiastically. She tried to peer over her own shoulder to look at it but couldn’t contort herself that way. The holes where her sleeves had been were large and messily cut and the twist of her torso gave Alice enough of a glimpse of the side of her ribs and the edge of a bra that it flustered her immediately. She tried to will away her blush before Robin turned back around. “So is he staying here forever now or…”

Alice frowned and tried to dismiss the light ball again. It stubbornly stayed nearby and Alice just sighed. “It doesn’t seem to want to leave so I guess I’ll just let the magic in it run out.”

“I like it,” Robin said. “It’s like a pet you don’t have to take care of.”

Alice laughed. She was interrupted from whatever she was about to say next when her stomach grumbled loudly.

“Oh, here!” Robin reached down next to herself and grabbed two sandwiches that had been sitting wrapped up in wax paper nearby. “Your dad dropped these off earlier and I saved them for you. I know how hungry Mom gets after doing a lot of magic so I figured you’d need them.”

She hadn’t really been feeling that way until Robin had said something, but now that it had been brought to her attention the pit in the bottom of her stomach was all she could think about. She unwrapped the sandwich and took almost too big of a bite. She had to work on chewing it for a while before she could swallow and then she smiled sheepishly at Robin. “Sorry. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was!”

_Or tired_ , she thought to herself but didn’t say out loud, suddenly feeling an exhaustion in her muscles like she’d been running for miles. It was ridiculous. She’d been standing there making lights.

Robin looked at her for a moment with sharp, knowing eyes that so vividly reminded her of Zelena it was impossible to say they weren’t mother and daughter. She sat back down where she had been making her mock arrows and patted the deck beside her. Alice sat next to her with crossed legs, enjoying the sun-warmed wood of the deck, the crisp ocean breeze, and the solidness of Robin next to her. She had to resist the urge to lean into Robin, choosing instead to brace her back against the bit of mast they were sitting against.  

“Mom says it’s all about the energy,” Robin said. “Most magic is performed with energy from inside of you, and burning that energy makes you just as tired as any other physical activity.”

Alice thought on that as she chewed. It made sense, she supposed, and made her feel less like a wimp. “So I have being tired to look forward to every time I do magic?” she asked.

Robin bumped their shoulders together and smiled. “Nah, it’s just like everything else. You used to get really tired when you first started sword fighting, right?”

“Yes,” Alice said.

“And now? Not nearly as much?”

Alice’s spirits lifted. She could see where Robin was going with this. “No. My muscles are used to it now. So I have to train my magic muscle? Kind of?”

“Exactly,” Robin grinned at her almost proudly and Alice really shouldn’t have been surprised by the rush of warmth it produced in her chest.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while after that. Alice finished her lunch and leaned her head back against the mast and closed her eyes. She soaked in the sun and let the rock of the waves and the repetitive, gentle sounds of Robin’s knife scraping against wood lull her into almost falling asleep.

“Alice,” Robin’s voice said quietly.

“Hmmm?” Alice hummed.

“You shouldn’t go to sleep now or you’ll never sleep tonight.”

Alice didn’t open her eyes. “Not sleeping tonight anyway,” she protested. “I have second watch.” But Robin was right, in a way, so Alice opened her eyes and looked blearily at her. Green eyes were looking at her in a soft way that made Alice’s heart feel fuzzy but she blinked and Robin was looking down at her woodworking again.

“How do you know so much about magic?” Alice asked. A thought occurred to her that made her lift her head and sit up straighter. “Can you do it too?”

It was the wrong thing to say. Alice could tell immediately by the way Robin’s shoulders lifted up and the sound her knife made against the wood of the arrows became a little rougher. The little crease between her eyebrows when she frowned showed up again, but this time the adorableness was dampened because Alice had been the one to cause it.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have –“ she started.

“It’s ok,” Robin put down her knife and gave her a small smile. It was weaker than the other ones she’d given her before and it made Alice want to apologize at least three more times for good measure. “No, I don’t really have magic.” She twisted the bit of arrow she’d been working on around in her hands and started to trace lines on the deck with it as she talked.

Alice reached out to put her hand on top of Robin’s, stilling the movement of the arrow, trying to calm the hurt she’d caused.

“My mom does, and my aunt, and my grandmother did. But not me. Magic is tied into bloodlines, but my father didn’t have any magic in him. So when I was born magic pretty much flipped a coin.” She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, like her voice wasn’t just a little bitter when she said, “The coin fell on the wrong side.”  She let her arrow fall to the deck.

Alice’s heart hurt deep inside her chest. Seeing the crestfallen look on Robin’s face as she said that made Alice want to hit the very concept of magic itself for passing her over.

“I’m sorry,” Alice said quietly. She gave her a soft smile. “You can have mine if you want?”

Robin turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers together. Alice’s heart stuttered to a stop and then started to race at twice the usual speed.

“Thanks for the offer,” she said. “I got over it a long time ago. And in a way I’m kind of glad?” The end of the sentence ticked up a little like a question. “My mom and I butt heads enough as it is. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had magic like hers. And I like being an archer. It makes me feel closer to my dad.”

Alice couldn’t stop thinking about Robin’s hand in hers, the way their palms felt pressed against each other. She was warm and cold all at once and she could feel her pulse pounding so hard in her wrists she was afraid Robin could feel it as well.

Robin took a deep, steadying breath and when she looked at Alice again her face was a little brighter. Her fingertips twitched against Alice’s and they both seemed to realize they were still holding hands. Alice pulled hers away reluctantly and Robin let her hand drop back to her side.

“Can I ask you a question?” Robin asked suddenly.

Alice’s heart jumped to her throat. “Sure,” she croaked out, and willed every power in the universe to have Robin not ask her what she felt just now.

“What Ahab said the other day on Wonderland. Do you think that’s true?”

Her entire body sagged as Alice relaxed. She wasn’t sure what Robin was going to ask but she didn’t think it was going to be that. “Which part?” she asked.

“He called my mom the Wicked Witch,” Robin bit her lip and looked to the side, out across the empty horizon. Her hands were twisting in front of her again as she worked herself up. “And everyone seemed to know what that meant. Do you think…” She paused, looking unsure of herself, “Do you think he actually meant my mom? I know she’s done some bad things in the past – I mean I sort of know, she won’t really talk about it – but 10,000 is a big bounty for just _some_ bad things –“

Alice couldn’t stand seeing her worked up anymore. She pushed past her nerves and uncertainty and leaned over to put her arm around Robin’s shoulders. The other girl leaned into the comfort gratefully. “Have you ever asked your mom about it?”

“No,” Robin said miserably, and they were pressed so close together Alice could feel the words being spoken as well as hear them. “Like I said, she doesn’t really like to talk about it. And I guess I never thought it was that important. But now…”

Alice took a deep breath and moved her hand to Robin’s lower back, rubbing comforting circles. “My papa has a bounty on him,” she said. Robin’s head seemed to perk up at this. “Before he had me he stole and killed without thought or question. Nowadays we try not to steal from ships that don’t look like they can afford to be stolen from, and we don’t kill the crew unless we must, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t do those things before. Sometimes as people we do awful acts. Sometimes we regret those acts and sometimes we don’t, but the only thing we can do is learn from them and move on. Try to be better next time around.”

“You know,” Robin said, pulling back and looking at Alice with bright eyes. “You’re pretty astute for a pirate.”

Alice smiled and tried not to show how much she missed having the other girl pressed close to her. “I try.”

They sat there smiling at each other for a moment before the light from earlier popped back into view and nudged against Robin’s cheeks. It made her laugh and Alice’s heart lifted. “Ok,” she said, waving the thing away even as it dodged her hand and tried to nudge her again, “Enough with feeling sorry for ourselves, I get it.”

“I still don’t know why it’s doing that,” Alice admitted. “We can ask your mom later.”

“Thank you, Alice,” Robin said so sincerely it made her ache. “For listening to me.”

Alice swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. “Of course,” she said. “What are friends for?”

Robin seemed to hesitate for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, friends,” she offered up a smile to Alice. “I guess we’re friends now.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "friends"? "fRIEnDS". children please. 
> 
> please enjoy your mandatory reminder that lizardwriter is amazing and should be showered with affection and praise


	7. Power and Lineage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice learns more about her magic, Robin and Zelena learn more about Alice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yup, another Alice chapter! lots of exposition here. sorry not sorry. remember that this is twisted canon, so some things are the same and some are VERY VERY different (like no Storybrooke)

It was the next day before Alice even thought about the little ball of light again. She was halfway up the rigging, checking for a tear in one of the sails, when Zelena called her down for her next lesson.

“Just a minute!” Alice called back. Satisfied that the sail was still very much intact she stepped up onto the natural ladder the rigging provided and then very purposefully stepped off. She let herself fall several feet before grabbing onto the rigging again and using her upper body strength to swing herself out and let go, dropping to the deck.

Zelena raised an eyebrow at her. “Show off,” she said mildly. “Your father is going to kill you if you break your neck doing that one day.”

“My father has no room to scold me, he’s the one who taught me how to do that.”

Zelena rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised? So, are you ready for your next lesson in control?”

Alice smiled, bright and wide. “Born ready!”

As they walked past Robin, who was helping one of the men move cargo around, the light darted out from behind the other girl and bobbed over to greet Alice. She lifted a hand and let it cuddle into her palm, very much used to it at this point. “Hello, little friend.”

“What are you still doing with that?” Zelena asked, curious but not harsh. “Trying to build up your stamina? You can dismiss it.”

Alice gave her a nonchalant little shrug. “He doesn’t want to go.” She walked several steps forward before she realized Zelena wasn’t still with her. When she turned around the older woman was staring at her with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“What do you mean,” Zelena asked slowly, “it doesn’t want to go?”

“I mean he didn’t want to disappear when I dismissed the other ones so I just let him stick around. He’s not causing any trouble so it seemed harmless.”

“But you’re telling it to move around, right?” Zelena’s words were suddenly very sharp. “You called it over when we walked past Robin?”

“No?” Alice brought her hand down to cuddle the little light to her chest. “He does his own thing. I forgot he was even around for a little bit since he likes to spend so much more time around Robin anyway.”

“It’s not a he, it’s a magic light. Dismiss it,” Zelena ordered.

Alice scowled, frustrated and confused. “I tried!” she insisted.

Robin had wandered over at this point, frowning as she approached them. “Everything ok over here?” she asked.

“Robin, did that thing stay with you last night?” Zelena asked instead of answering.

Robin looked confused for a moment before noticing the little light with Alice, which had darted up out of her hands and was now hiding underneath Alice’s hair. It wasn’t working very well because of the glow.

“Oh yeah, my little buddy,” she said. “Yeah, he hung around last night. He’s been here since Alice made him yesterday.”

“It is a _thing_ ,” Zelena insisted. “And it is a thing I want to see right now. Please,” she added belatedly.

Alice felt the light shiver underneath her hair and a rush of protectiveness surged up inside her. “You’re not going to hurt him,” she said sternly.

Zelena looked annoyed and exasperated all at once. “No, I’m not going to hurt it.” She held her hand out and wiggled her fingers impatiently.

Alice pulled the light into her hands and stopped a few feet away from Zelena. She held out her palms and the light sat there, looking almost smaller and dimmer with everyone staring at it. Zelena stepped closer and the light dimmed further, making itself as small as possible.

“Mom,” Robin said warningly.

Zelena paid no attention. She was looking at the light intently now, examining it from all angles and even sending a green spark of magic over to it. When she looked up at Alice again her eyes were hard and calculating.

“That’s not a light,” she said finally as she stepped away.

Alice frowned harder but it was Robin who spoke up. “Of course it is,” she said almost defensively. “You asked Alice to make the lights yesterday and that’s what she did.”

“Yes, but _that,_ ” she emphasized the word by jabbing a finger at the poor little thing. “Is not a mage light. It’s a will o’ wisp. And it shouldn’t exist.”

The light made a small chirruping noise and darted into Alice’s jacket, seemingly trying to hide. “What’s a will o’ wisp?” Alice asked, putting a hand over the small lump in her jacket consolingly.

“Sentient lights,” Robin answered, voice distracted as she continued to look hard at her mother, who had not taken her calculating gaze off Alice. “They exist mostly in forests and bogs. They lure travelers off the road to get them lost.”

“They’re evil?” Alice asked, heart jumping.

Zelena waved that thought away with a dismissive flick of her hand. “Magic is only as evil as the person creating it. Yours is fine. Might even be a little bit useful. The problem isn’t that it’s here, it’s that _you shouldn’t have been able to create it_.”

Robin stepped closer to try and get a look at the will o’ wisp. “C’mere, buddy,” she coaxed gently. It floated out of Alice’s jacket and obediently went over to Robin. “What’s so special about Alice being able to create him? He’s just a light.”

“I don’t think you two understand,” Zelena said seriously. “Creating sentient beings? That’s _powerful_ magic.”

Alice felt a chill go down her spine. She knew she had magic, and a lot of it. It had never seemed to be too important since she’d never used it. But the way Zelena was looking at her now, almost afraid, made her start to scare herself a little. Maybe it showed on her face because Robin suddenly came closer and handed the will o’ wisp back her. Alice held it close to her heart immediately and it seemed to brighten and dim rhythmically in her grasp, almost like it was purring.

“Aunt Regina used to make those fake knights and dragons for me to fight,” Robin said. “So she’s powerful like Aunt Regina?”

“No,” Zelena shook her head, still not taking her eyes off Alice. “Don’t you remember we always sat and watched you play those games? It was because Regina needed to be in sight, to tell them to do things like swing a sword or fly around. Those were powerful, certainly, but they were illusions. They didn’t have thoughts and they wouldn’t move without being told. That thing – that thing is its own creature now.”

Robin kept looking back and forth between Alice and Zelena, trying to make sense of the situation. “Ok, we’re done here,” she said, glaring at her mom. “Stop scaring her.”

“I’m not trying to scare her!” Zelena snapped. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took several noticeable, calming breaths. “Alice, sweetheart, I’m sorry if I’m frightening you. Can we talk for a little bit about when you started to feel your magic manifest?”

Alice couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do less, because she knew the answer would make Zelena look at her like that again. Like she was something _other_. The answer was simply that it never had. Alice hadn’t felt her magic begin to form, she’d always had it, like an arm or a leg she had been born with it a part of her body. She had wanted to avoid the conversation she knew was coming at all costs, had thought maybe the question would never come up. But the way Zelena was looking at her, the waves of fear she felt coursing through her every time she thought of the way that Zelena had said the word ‘powerful’…she knew it was unavoidable.

“We need Papa for this,” Alice said. She handed the will o’ wisp back to Robin and stood straight to fiddle with the edges of her jacket. “We need to have a conversation about my mother.”

 

* * *

 

“Can someone please bloody tell me why all of you look like someone died?” Her papa asked when he came into his cabin and saw them all sitting around his desk. There was a long pause as he looked around. “ _Did_ someone die?”

Alice smiled a little. “No, papa. Zelena has some questions that I can’t –“ she worked at her lip a little and decided to rephrase, ‘-that I think maybe you should answer instead.”

“We were getting everything ready for making port tomorrow morning at that small sea village off the White Cliffs. Could it have not have waited until later?” he asked.

“No.” Alice jumped up and sat on the edge of his desk. She waved him over and he stood hovering nearby, scratching his hook against his jacket like he always did when he was thinking hard about something. “I…made something yesterday.” She held up her hands and the will o’ wisp came over from where it had been hiding in Robin’s pocket to hover above her palms. It brightened like it was showing off a little.

Her father looked arguably more confused than before. “A pretty light?”

“A sentient pretty light,” Zelena answered. “One that thinks and moves on its own. It’s not a spell I taught her, it’s not a spell she should even be able to _do._ ” She threw her arm out for emphasis. “Hell, I’ve seen two people in the world cast a spell that created a sentient being and they did it on purpose.”

Her papa was completely still at this point. He’d realized where the conversation was heading. He turned and walked to the window and stood there for a minute. She could see him composing himself.

“Alice said this has something to do with her mother?” Zelena prompted after a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alice saw Robin reach over and smack her mother’s arm with the back of her hand. Zelena hit back gently.

“Aye,” her papa rubbed his hand over his face and turned back to look at them. He tried to smile but it looked strained and forced. “When I was younger, I stole as much as I could. All the time. Most of it was on the water, but sometimes we did jobs on the land. I had friends – a network, really – that would tell me when there were big scores to be had. Lots of treasure.”

Alice had heard this story before, or at least part of it. She leaned forward to put her elbows on her knees and listened anyway. Robin stood behind the chair her mother was sitting in, listening attentively.

“One of the times we were on land a friend told me about a tower. He said there was talk of a beautiful girl trapped there and stories of the reward that could be had if she was rescued from it. I didn’t care too much about being a hero but the reward? It was more than enough incentive.” He started to pace back and forth in front of the windows that looked out behind them. “At the top of the tower I found a woman, just as they said. She needed a flower to help her escape.” He looked sheepishly back at Alice. “We slept together, and in the morning there was a baby. Turned out the flower was just to help that particular consequence of sleeping together come along a little faster.”

“So Alice’s mom was a witch,” Robin said, and Hook nodded at her. “And she used magic to speed up the pregnancy and that’s why Alice has so much magic? That’s not too bad.”

“Hook,” Zelena said sharply. All eyes turned to look at her. She had gone almost deathly pale in her chair and it made her red hair stand out like blood. “This tower, where was it?”

“The far southeast corner of the Enchanted Forest continent,” Hook said, and he looked tired when he answered. Alice’s heart hurt for him.

“Tall tower, lots of moss at the bottom. No entrance in or out?” Zelena asked. She grew impossibly paler when Hook nodded again.

“Mom, what?” Robin asked.  

Zelena ignored her and stared intently at her papa. “What was her name, Hook?”

Her papa sighed, and every ounce of his tiredness and worry was carried in that sound. “Gothel,” he said quietly.

Zelena stood up so hard that if Robin hadn’t been standing behind the chair it would have fallen over. As it was it knocked into Robin, who let out a small ‘oof’ of surprise. “You had a –“ she started at a very high volume, and then caught herself and lowered her voice, “you have a child with…Alice’s mother is _Gothel_?”

Alice brought her knees up and hugged them to her chest. Her little will o’ wisp made its tiny chirruping sound and nuzzled against the side of her head. Robin was frowning thunderously, looking back and forth between her mother and Alice’s papa.

“Can someone explain that to the only person in this room who doesn’t seem to know what that means?” She demanded, crossing her arms.

“Gothel is a witch,” her papa started.

“Yeah, I got that part.”

“Gothel,” Zelena spat, “is barely even human. She was locked in that tower for a _reason_.”

“Having a stupid name?” Robin suggested. Alice giggled.

“Now is not the time for jokes, Robin,” Zelena scolded.

“I’m not joking. Gothel is horrendous.”

“Robin!”

Robin sent a sideways smile to Alice like she knew how ridiculous she was being. “It’s a punishable offense.” Alice giggled again but hugged her knees tighter, fingertips almost white with effort. Robin visibly deflated. “Is she really that bad?”

“Worse,” Zelena confirmed.

“I wouldn’t have even talked to her if I knew who she was,” Hook insisted. “She used me to get that flower that sped up her pregnancy, and then she was planning on leaving Alice in the tower. She said that it was the only way.”

Zelena nodded. “Blood magic,” she said. “It was the only thing strong enough to contain her. Clever woman, to figure out if she left someone of her bloodline in her place she could trick the magic of the tower into thinking that she was still there.”

“Ok, that’s not an explanation,” Robin said.

Zelena sighed and sat back down. She looked older, somehow. “Remember when I told you all magic has a price?” Robin nodded, still frowning. “Gothel is one of the people who has never had to pay that price. She’s…old. Thousands of years old. And just as powerful as that would imply. When she was at the height of her power she led a coven of witches that could create or destroy anything that they wanted to. And, oh, how they wanted to.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a good smile. “I was asked to join them, once.”

This was news to Alice and her papa. They both looked at Zelena, startled. Her smile was a little more genuine at them. “I didn’t do it, of course.”

“So what happened?” Robin asked.

“A group of people decided she was becoming too powerful to remain unchecked. They pooled their power together and locked her away in that tower. She was never meant to escape from it.”

“Well, I didn’t help her,” her papa said gruffly. “When I realized what was happening, I grabbed Alice and ran.”

“I’m surprised you even survived the encounter,” Zelena admitted.

“I had a vial in my pocket,” Hook said. “A gift from – well, I wouldn’t really call him a friend. But I was to use it if I ever got myself into a situation against powerful magic. When I had Alice in my arms I tossed it at her and it broke in her face. Knowing what I know now, it must have startled her more than anything else. But it gave me enough time to step out the window with Alice. Once we were past the tower she couldn’t follow.”

“Sheer, dumb luck,” Zelena said.

“Aye.”

Zelena ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Well, that would explain the powerful reserves of magic. It doesn’t change your lessons, darling,” Zelena said. “Just means I should be more careful with how I teach you. Hook, you should set out some precautions.”

“Already did,” Hook said. “Who do you think those cuffs were for in the first place? Gothel ever gets out of the tower, she won’t know what hit her.”

Zelena stopped moving again. She went very still, like a prey animal that had just heard a predator. The expression on her face when she turned to Hook terrified Alice. “Hook,” she said quietly, and Alice’s heart started to pound. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

Alice felt her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. She felt like she knew what Zelena was going to say before the words came out of her mouth and she couldn’t seem to be able to brace herself for it. The fear started to crawl over her like ice. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Alice?” Robin’s voice said at the same time Zelena said, “Hook, that tower was destroyed years ago. And Gothel wasn’t in it when it went down.”

Warm hands were on her arms, pulling her away from the fear, from the coldness that had gripped her heart. She leaned into Robin and let go of her knees to wrap her arms around the other girl’s torso instead. Robin pulled her tighter into the hug. “You’re good,” she said softly into the top of Alice’s head. “You’re ok.”

When she opened her eyes, she could see through the gap in Robin’s arms that her Papa was hovering nearby and Zelena was just behind him, both looking worried. “Is she going to come after me?” Alice whispered.

“No,” her papa said firmly.

“Probably not,” Zelena agreed. She shrugged when everyone looked at her. “What?” she asked. “I told you it’s been years since that tower was destroyed. If Alice was someone she wanted to come for I think she’d have tried to find her already.”

“See, Starfish?” her Papa said. He nodded at Robin when the other girl released her so that he could hug Alice instead. “Nothing to worry about.”

 

* * *

 

“Robin, if you follow me to one more part of the ship I’m going to lock you up again.”

Robin stopped a few feet away and tried valiantly to act like she hadn’t been shadowing Alice as she walked around the deck. It didn’t work.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You’re the worst liar,” Alice said. “Has anyone told you that?”

Robin looked sheepish and rubbed the back of her neck. She had to stretch her arm doing it to avoid the bow slung over her back. “Yeah. Couple people, actually.”

Alice crossed her arms and glared. “Can I help you with something?” she asked.

“Maybe I just wanted to spend time with you.”

“You’re welcome to spend time with me, but this isn’t spending time. This is hovering behind me like a guard dog!” Alice snapped.

Robin’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Fine,” she said. “You were really freaked out about your mom, so I wanted to keep an eye on you. Make sure you didn’t think you were alone.”

Alice’s heart absolutely did not melt at that. Not one bit. “You think my mother is going to try and attack me,” she said, “on a ship full of my father’s men?”

The look on Robin’s face told her very clearly Robin was also realizing how silly that sounded out loud. “You never know?” she defended herself weakly.

“I’m heading into the port now. Are you going to follow me around there as well?” Alice asked, uncrossing her arms and looking at the other girl fondly. “Because you can just do that next to me, you know.”

Robin smiled at her, still looking more than a little sheepish. “That’s probably a better idea,” she admitted. Her smile got bigger when Alice held her arm out and she linked them together.

The sea town off the White Cliffs, so small it didn’t even have a name besides the landmark it was closest to, was very happy to see the Jolly Roger. This was one of their bigger trade stops, if not one of their bigger money ones. The Jolly Roger usually had a lot of things that the village could sell or trade, and the village had a lot supplies that would keep the men of the Roger fed for months.

Alice smiled and nodded as she made her way through the village. These were good, honest people who didn’t care who they were trading their things with as long as it wasn’t something that could get them into trouble. Alice and her father made sure to trade them generic things that couldn’t be traced back to a particular ship, or things they were instructed to melt down before selling. It was a sort of unspoken thing that the village knew they were pirates and never actually said anything.

She grinned as a couple of kids ran out of the market, tossing a red ball back and forth to each other. One of them giggled and threw the ball at Alice, who tossed it to a startled Robin. The other girl caught it just before it hit her face and she stuck her tongue out at Alice as she threw it back to the kids. One of them missed the catch and it rolled several feet and landed in a pile of bushes.

“Got it for you,” Alice said, jogging over. She reached her arm in and felt around. There was a sharp prick on her finger. “Ow!” She grabbed the ball and pulled her arm back, tossing it gently to one of the kids. She sucked quietly on her finger.

“You ok?” Robin asked.

“Just a thorn,” Alice assured her. She wiped the rest of the blood on her pants and forgot about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> foreshadowing? in MY story? it's more likely than you think
> 
> please take a moment of silence for your mandatory lizardwriter appreciation time


	8. The Tempest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin bonds with Hook, gets a few important lessons from Alice, and an ominous warning to go with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy pride month! heard you wanted a chapter with more thirsty gays. i gotchu fam. 
> 
> Robin chapter!

The door to Hook’s cabin was open when she arrived at it. She could see him bent over his desk doing something with a metal instrument and the maps in front of him. Robin knocked on the doorframe anyway, just to be polite. He smiled when he noticed her standing there and waved her in.

“What can I do for you, Robin?” he asked.

“Just wanted to let you know I’ve got enough bows and arrows to start giving lessons to the men soon. Did you have an idea when you wanted me to start doing that?”

“As soon as possible, please.” He scratched lightly at his chin with his hook as he regarded her. “Did I ever thank you, by the way?”

Robin frowned. “Thank me for what?” she asked. “I offered to teach the men.”

“No, not that,” he waved his hand. “For what you did in the battle.”

“Oh.” Robin was suddenly nervous for no reason she could name. She fidgeted a little with the end of her braid. “You don’t have to thank me for that,” she mumbled.

“Don’t I?” he sighed and moved the maps on his desk to the side, so he could lean against it without disturbing them. “Up to that point I had given you absolutely no reason to want to help us in any way. And still, when given your chance at freedom and escape, you chose to stay and fight. You were the reason we won that battle, Robin. You and your mother. So, thank you.”

Robin lifted her chin up a little and met his eyes. “My mother and I were the reason he was attacking you. We wouldn’t just abandon you like that.”

“You could have.”

Robin thought of blue eyes and a good heart and knew that no – she really couldn’t have. Honor and misplaced loyalty aside the idea of using that time to jump into one of the lifeboats and escape, to completely abandon the Jolly Roger and leave, knowing she was also abandoning everyone in its crew, it would have been unthinkable.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at the maps he’d been poring over instead. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Charting our course,” he answered, allowing the change of subject.

Robin stepped closer and carefully studied the maps unrolled on the desk. There was a very big one of what looked like the open sea, and then a smaller one that had more details on it. She could see “wonderland” scrawled in small, precise handwriting next to one of the islands on the smaller one. The maps were being held down now with something that looked like a metal triangle with gears.

“Here,” Hook reached past her to pick up the metal triangle. “This is a quadrant. I used it last night to measure the stars and skyline and matched it up with that map to find our position. See?” He motioned to the bigger map, his finger tracing where the constellations were drawn onto the top. “Once I had that, I pulled the more detailed map of where we are to plot the safest way to get to our next destination.”

“That’s really neat,” Robin said.

Hook shrugged. “Alice is much better at it than I am if we’re being honest. She’s the brains of the operation, I’m just the dashing good looks.” He winked and Robin rolled her eyes.

When he put the quadrant back onto his desk it moved the map slightly and Robin could see a third one underneath. This one she recognized almost immediately. It was a land map of the Enchanted Forest continent. He didn’t stop her when she tugged it out from underneath the other maps although his smile did drop. There was more writing on this one, in bigger and messier handwriting, all centered around something that hadn’t originally been marked. A tower drawn into a part of the forest to the southeast.

Robin clenched her jaw as she looked at it. “Is it that bad?” she asked without looking up at Hook.

She could practically hear the frown in his voice when he answered. “Her mother? Aye. Everything Alice is not, that woman is. She’s dangerous and the thought of her getting near Alice…” He trailed off, but he didn’t have to paint the picture.

A fist closed around Robin’s heart. She’d never met this Gothel, but her mother didn’t scare easily and neither did Hook. If both were frightened – and they were _frightened,_ Robin could see that very clearly, no matter how much they tried to hide it behind false confidence and bravado – then it had to be bad. But if this woman wanted Alice she was going to have a storm coming.

“She’s not getting close,” Robin promised fiercely. She looked at him and glowered, like she could glare off any threat. “She’ll be littered with arrows before she gets within thirty feet, I can promise you that.” 

Hook looked at her for a long moment, and then tilted his head in a move so uncannily like Alice that Robin knew immediately where she must have learned it from. Just as Robin was getting anxious under the scrutiny he smiled at her again.

“You’re going to shoot an arrow at a three-thousand-year-old mage?” he asked, almost amused.

“I don’t have magic!” Robin defended herself. “Well, not enough to count. And an arrow hurts no matter who you are.” She put the map back on the table a little too forcefully. “Dead is dead no matter how old and powerful she is. I refuse to be helpless fighting against magic.”  

That seemed to strike a chord with him. “I know the feeling,” he said quietly. “Standing next to Gothel once she’d revealed herself to me, it was like standing next to a whirlpool – to know for a fact that you are completely unable to fight against it if it decides to drag you under, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.”

“Another witch came for my mom once,” Robin told him. “This was when I was maybe thirteen or fourteen? She used some sort of spell that blocked the doors to the house, so I couldn’t come out and help. I guess because she didn’t want a kid to get hurt. I had to watch my mom fight her off and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”

When Hook looked at her then it was such a profound moment of understanding between them that it was almost palpable.

“It’s difficult to protect the ones we love from the consequence of magic we don’t understand,” he said.

“Yeah,” Robin set her chin stubbornly. “But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.”

 

* * *

 

Alice was hanging upside down from the rigging when Robin found her, messing with one of the ropes and humming quietly to herself. Robin craned her neck backwards to see her more clearly.

“You all right up there?” Robin yelled up.

Alice looked down at her and grinned, blonde hair like sunshine falling all around her face. “Just checking the lines of the some of the sails,” she said. “Wind feels a bit strong today. Want to come up?”

Robin eyed the rigging dubiously. In theory it worked like a giant rope ladder, and Alice certainly seemed comfortable enough on it, jumping and swinging off it constantly like the very wind would catch her if she missed. That didn’t necessarily reassure her.

“Come on!” Alice swung herself right-side-up and climbed down quickly, keeping herself a few feet up on the rigging and holding her hand out to Robin. “It’s not that hard. I can teach you how to tie knots!”

“I know how to tie knots,” Robin grumbled. She grabbed Alice’s hand and allowed herself to be pulled upwards. It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of. She just had to let all her weight fall onto the rope, and then as soon as it held her completely she would swing lightly and move up another square. She wasn’t as quick as Alice about it, but then again, she doubted some of the crew were as quick as Alice about it.

They spent the next hour climbing around like monkeys. Alice showed her the knots that they would use to tie the sails to the masts, pointed out the bits of rope and sail that needed maintenance and the bits that didn’t, she even taught her how they anchored the sail lines to the bottom of the mast during a storm. By the time they were done Robin was sitting on the rigging with her arms and legs sticking out at different angles.

“Sailing is hard,” she whined.

Alice was standing in the rigging and hanging off the side, only holding on with one arm. With her golden hair and loose white shirt whipping around in the wind, she looked every bit a fantastical pirate out of a storybook. Robin went breathless watching her. Her sailing lessons had been practically useless, since all Robin had been able to concentrate on was the press of her body when she leaned over to correct Robin’s hold on the rigging, and the proud look in her eye when Robin had successfully secured the sail to the mast. She looked over her shoulder and grinned as she teased Robin about not being cut out for pirate life, but the words were buzzing in her head. Robin shook her head like she was trying to clear water out of her ears and kicked herself into paying attention.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Alice was saying as she swung herself around and clambered over to loop herself in next to Robin.

Robin peered into the distance and could see the darkness on the horizon that had no right being there so early in the afternoon. As she watched a bright flash of lightning illuminated them from within. She could feel her stomach heaving just thinking about it. “Another storm?” she asked. “Isn’t that happening a lot?”

Alice shrugged. “It’s getting towards summer. Storm season is only for a few weeks and then it’ll calm down again.” Alice tugged on the end of Robin’s braid with a cute little grin. “We’ll put aside some ginger for you.”

Ignoring the way that made her heart flutter in her chest, Robin reached into her shirt pocket and pulled something out. “That reminds me,” she said. “I wanted to give this to you.”

Alice’s eyes widened as she looked at the bracelet in her hand. Robin loved how she could see the laughter build in her eyes way before she giggled as she reached out and took it. “Isn’t this what you were making with the dress you destroyed?”

Robin gave her a crooked smile. “Turns out there wasn’t enough thread to make a decent rope. Made a pretty good bracelet, though.” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “I thought you could have it. As a thank you for getting my dad’s bow back to me.”  

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” Alice said gently. Her eyes were soft when she held it back out to Robin. “Put it on?”

If asked, she would blame her hands shaking on the way the rigging was swaying in the wind when she twisted and knotted the bracelet onto Alice’s wrist. She let her hands linger for a moment, enjoying the warmth and closeness, and the tingle that ran across her skin when Alice brushed their fingers together. Their eyes met and Robin felt herself leaning in a little. A deep rumble of thunder interrupted them.

Alice sighed and looked away, back at the horizon. She untangled herself and started to climb down. “Let’s get everything secured before the storm hits and then we can worry about you getting sick. Unless you’d rather stay up here?”

The rigging swayed under a sudden gust of wind and Robin nearly jumped out of her skin. “Nope!” She pulled her arms and legs back in and climbed down after her. Alice’s laugh drifted up to her. It was almost worth embarrassing herself for.

 

* * *

 

The storm was bad.

No one needed to say it, she could see it on the faces of the men as they changed shifts, shucking their damp clothes for something warm and huddling under blankets. Alice had been below deck and back up twice, both times looking like she’d come from a swim. Robin was helping Archie hand out warm drinks to the men who had come downstairs when there was a crack that shook the entire ship. It knocked Robin’s feet right out from under her and her knees hit the deck. She hissed at the sharp pain.

“What the hell!”

Several of the men, some of whom had just come down, threw off their blankets and ran back up the stairs.

“Shit, shit,” Billy shrugged his jacket back on next to her. “That sounded like one of the masts.”

Robin didn’t hesitate. She didn’t even put a jacket on as she ran up the stairs just behind Billy and out onto the deck. It was almost more chaotic than the battle. At least during the battle there was lots of light. The deck was only illuminated by lanterns hung precariously off hooks, and those were almost completely blocked by the heavy sheets of rain pouring down. The entire deck swayed with a sudden cresting wave and Robin slid a few feet before she caught herself on a railing.

“Help!”

Smee was nearby, fighting with a rope that had come loose and threatened to detach from the ship entirely. Robin ran over and grabbed the flailing end of it, hauling it back around the mast it had broken from and handing it back to Smee to tie off. It was like wrestling with an angry snake. Smee sagged against the mast when they had it secured again.

“Thanks!” he shouted. He almost had to scream to be heard over the howling wind.

A crack of lightning highlighted the deck for a moment in black and white. One of the smaller masts at the front of the ship was smoking like it’d been struck and it was leaning. She could see jagged, broken bits of wood highlighted against the sky where it had cracked. Hook was nearby, shouting instructions to his men, grabbing some to push them in another direction where they could be of more use. She could barely make out the golden hair that marked Alice a couple hundred feet away helping some men fight with one of the sails.

The was a loud roaring as a wave crested over the side of the boat. It washed water completely across the deck with such ferocity a few of the barrels broke loose from their ties and started to tumble. Robin, who had been thrown to the ground with the force of the water, rolled to the side to avoid one. It hit the railing and nearly broke it.

The ship started to groan and grind under the wind. Most of the men were near the broken mast, trying desperately to save it from falling entirely. Hook was standing directly across from her, his hand and his hook deeply embedded in the railing as he fought for control. She was about to shout to him, ask if there was something she could do to help, when she saw the line holding one of the cannons snap. The rope cracked across the air like a whip in the harsh winds and the cannon, no longer held to the center mast where it had been tied for safety during the storm, started to roll. Hook didn’t see it happen, nor did he notice when it gained speed barreling its way to him.

Robin stood up and bolted. He couldn’t hear her shouting over the earsplitting sound of thunder over their heads, and he wasn’t looking at her. She slipped twice on the rain-soaked deck and he had just enough time to look startled before she tackled him. The force of it knocked her to the ground as well and he slid away, finally coming to a stop when he hit the other side of the ship. The cannon rolled past without hitting anybody, crashed through the railing, trailing the rope that was supposed to keep it secure behind it as it plummeted down into the sea.

Robin just lay on her back for a moment and breathed in deeply with relief. Until she felt something catch on her ankle and pull.

The weight of the cannon on the rope was like an anchor. Robin tried her hardest to grab onto the broken railing as she was dragged past it. Her screams were swallowed by the storm but just over it she heard the heart-wrenching wail of someone calling her name.

She hit the water like a stone. She barely had time to even take a deep breath before she was being pulled under, the rope pinching tight around her ankle like wire. She panicked and twisted around, pulling and pulling and pulling at the rope until by some miracle it loosened, and she tore it away from her. No longer being dragged under, she started to kick her legs hard to get back to the surface. Her lungs were burning, her eyes stinging with salt when she tried to peer into the water to get her bearings. She broke the surface with a gasp and swallowed water as a wave slammed into her and pushed her back under.

Robin wasn’t a strong swimmer to begin with. In a storm-tossed ocean she was practically helpless. She could feel her boots filling with water and dragging her down, each kick towards the surface again only seeming to push her farther under. The edges of her vision were going black and she could feel – deep in her chest – a tightness that crawled its way up to her throat. She had to let the air out of her lungs or she’d die. She couldn’t take in water when she breathed or she’d die.

She was going to die.

A sudden sharp white light erupted near her head. It stayed there, flickering and then bursting into brightness again every few seconds. Robin reached out to it but she couldn’t touch it. She tried to swim towards it but her legs didn’t want to kick anymore. The last bit of air trickled out of her mouth and Robin coughed. Water rushed in to replace it.

Then arms were around her and someone was dragging her to the surface with strong, sure kicks. She started to cough and choke out water the minute they hit the surface. Robin clung to her savior as a high-pitched voice shouted for someone to pull them in. Her exhausted body let everyone else do the work as they were lifted into the air and pulled back onto the deck. She’d never felt anything as wonderful as the solid wood of the deck in her entire life.

She blinked her eyes open, stinging with salt water, and Alice hovered over her. She was hazy and indistinguishable at first, but the more Robin coughed out water the more her vision cleared as well. Her blonde hair fell in front of her face in wet clumps and she had a rope tied around her chest like a harness.

“Robin!” Alice cupped her face with cold hands when she saw Robin’s eyes focus on her. She brushed Robin’s hair away from her forehead and looked away at someone. “Help me get her up!”

Billy and someone else hauled her to her feet and she leaned heavily on them as they practically carried her back down the stairs. Alice ran ahead shouting for Archie and Robin’s mom. Her chest felt like it was on fire and every breath felt like pins being stuck into her lungs.

“Is she going to be ok?” she heard Alice ask.

Archie leaned over and pushed hard against her chest. The motion kicked Robin’s poor lungs back into gear and she coughed out the rest of the saltwater to the side. Then her mother was there, hands wreathed in green light as they replaced Archie’s. The relief in her chest was almost immediate.

“’M fine,” Robin tried to say. The words felt raw in her throat. She closed her eyes and focused solely on breathing. Deep breaths, completely filling her lungs and letting them out again. It was only as the pain in her chest receded that she noticed it in other places. She could feel a sharp pain in her ankle from where the cannon had caught her and another along her side where she’d hit the deck.

She felt her mother’s hands leave her chest and touch her forehead instead. “She needs to sleep,” she heard Archie say, and she felt the buzz of magic before she could protest.

 

* * *

 

When she woke up the sea was calmer, the world was quieter, and someone else was in the room.

Her tongue stuck to the top of her mouth like glue and she worked it loose with disgust as she opened her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she’d woken up in the infirmary of the Jolly Roger, but she sure hoped it was going to be her last. Her head felt heavy and so did a weight against her legs. The first thing she noticed when she cleared the sleep from her eyes was the shape of Hook standing in the doorway.

He didn’t have his black leather jacket on and his clothes still looked a little damp. His eyes were serious as he stared at her. “Morning,” he said quietly. “You took quite a spill last night.”

That felt like an understatement. It wasn’t hard for her brain to supply the desperate, cold feeling of being under water. Robin’s chest tightened, and she shoved those memories away. “Morning,” she mumbled back.

Hook walked over and put his hand next to her on the bed. He still spoke in a really low voice when he said, “That’s the second time you’ve saved my life, little bird.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she croaked out.

Someone made a sleepy humming noise at the foot of the bed and Robin lifted herself up a little to look. Alice was curled up there like a cat, knees tucked to her chest and head pillowed on her arms as she took up the space Robin didn’t. As Robin looked at her she scrunched her nose in what was arguably the most adorable just-woken-up expression Robin had ever seen. She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand and focused on her father standing next to the bed and Robin sitting up. She jolted upwards so fast she almost fell off the side. “You’re awake!” she said, all traces of sleepiness gone. “How do you feel? How’s your chest?”

Getting a beating from the inside out because of the relief and worry she could see all over Alice’s face but otherwise fine…was what she wasn’t going to say. “I’m ok,” she reassured the other girl.

“What about your head?”

“I never hit my head. My head is fine.”

“Good.” And with that Alice smacked her upside the head.  

“Ow!” Robin said, more out of shock than anything else. She widened her eyes at Alice and rubbed the back of her skull. She might have pouted a bit. “Hey!”

“You _idiot_!”

Robin looked at Hook, and back at Alice, and back at Hook again like he could make sense of this. He pressed his lips together like he was two seconds from bursting into laughter at her expense. Robin made a mental note to let whatever tried to hurt him next succeed.

“What was that for?!”

Alice’s eyes were so bright with anger they looked like they were lit up from within and she started to whack Robin in the arm for emphasis. “For being a reckless,” _whack_ , “foolhardy” _whack_ , “numbskull of a human being.” _Whack._

“Quit it with the name calling!” Robin caught her hand on the next downward swing and held tight.

Alice didn’t try to take her hand back. “I grew up with pirates,” she said sulkily. “I know way worse names to call you.”

“Hey,” Hook said mildly, like he was being of any help in the situation. “The men weren’t supposed to swear that much in front of you.”

The look Alice gave him was equal parts exasperated and fond. “Papa, they’re pirates. They tried.” She left her hand in Robin’s when she finally climbed off the bed to stand next to it, but it didn’t seem to make her any less mad. Now she just had a better angle to glare at Robin from. “What the hell did you think you were doing, coming up in a storm like that?”

“One of the masts broke,” Robin defended herself. “I came up to help!”

“You came up to help and you almost drowned!” Her voice cracked on the last word and she cleared her throat and moved farther away, pulling her hand out of Robin’s. “Do you have any idea how easy it is to lose someone when they go overboard at night? If Willy hadn’t found you and lit up to show where you were…”

Robin frowned, half upset at the distance and half confused. Her hand felt cold now. “Willy?”

Like she’d called his name the will o’ wisp wiggled out from underneath the covers to nudge gently at her cheeks. He looked a little dim, like he was tired, but was otherwise fine.

“Wait, what else have the men said to you?” Hook asked.

“Oh, please, Papa,” Alice waved her hand in the air like she was brushing aside his concerns. “Like Kaia didn’t pull me aside and explain everything they talked about when we were sixteen anyway.”

Robin couldn’t help the way her gut twisted jealously at the mention of the girl from Wonderland. Hook seemed to be having a similar situation, although likely for different reasons. He turned abruptly and started to stalk towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Alice asked.

“I’m executing every single one of my men,” he answered. “They’re walking the plank one by one.”

Alice bit her lip to stop the smile Robin could see tugging at the edges of her mouth. “We’re not even out at sea anymore,” she said.

“Then I’m just gonna shoot ‘em!”

“We’re not out at sea anymore?” Robin asked when Alice turned to look at her again, hoping to skip any future violence.

Alice was still frowning at her but seemed less likely to keep yelling. “No, the ship was pretty damaged. There was a smugglers cove nearby when the storm hit. Papa got us there and we beached the ship to do repairs.” She sighed and motioned with her head to the door. “Come on, I’ll show you. We’ll see if we can stop Papa from hurting the crew.”

Robin threw the blanket off her legs and got to her feet. Her ankle was still red but it didn’t look like there was any other damage to it. Her mother must have healed her while she slept. “Are you still mad at me?” she asked as she followed Alice through the belly of the ship.

“Yes.”

“How long are you going to stay mad at me?”

Alice thought about that for a moment. “At least another hour.”

Robin followed her all the way up to the top deck. For once nobody was below doing anything else, and it was easy to see why as they stepped into the sunshine. Every part of the boat that could possibly need repairs was absolutely covered in a member of the crew. At least six of them were wearing ropes around their chests like harnesses and hanging off one of the bigger masts to repair the damage to the one that had been struck by lightning. It reminded Robin of something.

“It was you,” she said.

Alice stopped walking and turned to look at her, head tilted to the side. “What?”

“Last night. You were wearing one of those,” she motioned towards the hanging men, “and you were shouting my name. You were the one who jumped in. You saved me.”

Alice wouldn’t quite meet her eyes now. She glanced over at her father gesturing wildly nearby while talking to Smee. “I saw you go over,” she said, like that explained everything.

She reached out and grabbed Alice’s hand again, tugging her closer. “Thank you, Alice,” she said.

Alice blushed and kept looking away but didn’t pull her hand back. Instead she tugged to get Robin to follow, as if that was difficult to do at all. Robin would follow Alice even without being led.

“Where are we going?” she asked as Alice led her down a ramp the men had thrown off the side of the ship.

The ship itself had been pulled, through what Robin could see was a use of ropes and logs, halfway up onto the beach so the hull was above water. There were several spots the men were repairing in it, places where the storm or rocks had dinged or outright damaged the hull. Alice led her past them, around a set of rocks and off the side to another, more isolated part of the cove. The water was shallow here, so clear and blue it looked like a reflection of the sky above them, which showed no trace of the terrible storm that started all this. They could still hear but no longer see the men.

“You’re getting a lesson,” Alice said. “I almost couldn’t find you last night. If you ever go overboard again – which, by the way, is not allowed, so don’t – you need to know what to do until help gets to you.”

And with that, without any warning, she tugged at the bottom of her shirt and peeled it off. Robin’s heart stopped beating on the spot.

“Alice?” she mumbled through a mouth suddenly dry as a bone.

Alice paused in the act of tugging her pants off as well to look up at her through long eyelashes. The view as she leaned over was enough to make Robin positive she was about to spontaneously combust. She hoped the water was cold.

“Clothes off, Mills,” she commanded, and Robin had a sudden flash of that being said in a lower voice, with a little more of a purr. “Unless you want to swim completely clothed?”

Clad only in her undergarments now she started to climb one of the rocks nearby. When she turned Robin saw ink in two places and stepped forward for a better look. On her right shoulder blade was a compass, like one of the elaborate ones Robin had seen drawn on the corners of Hook’s nautical maps. Just underneath her left shoulder, more towards her spine and ribs, was a blue starfish.

Robin gulped and was pretty sure she’d never be able to make her body move properly ever again. She fumbled when she unlaced her pants and pushed them down, and it was only when she heard the splash of Alice jumping in the water that she relaxed enough to be able to smoothly take off her shirt. Even then it got caught around her ears for a moment.   

The water was definitely a little cold. It didn’t do much to calm Robin’s poor, overheated body when she waded in, but at least as she ducked her head under she could pretend she wasn’t blushing. When she broke the surface again Alice was swimming in lazy circles around her with long, calm strokes of her arms. The motion made the muscles in her back ripple and the tattoos moved with them. Robin tried to remind herself what breathing felt like.

“I didn’t know you had tattoos,” she managed to say without sounding like an idiot.

Alice stopped swimming and just floated for a moment, the motion of her arms making the water splash around her. “Most pirates do,” she said. “I got mine on Wonderland. The starfish first, when I was fifteen, and the compass afterward.” She grinned mischievously, in a way that sent heat curling all the way down to Robin’s toes. “Might not want to mention that to my Papa.”

“He doesn’t know?”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt anyone.”

Robin had to laugh at that and Alice giggled back in response. She swam closer and brushed her fingertips along Robin’s shoulder. The touch felt like fire trailing across her skin. “Follow me, we need to get somewhere a little better for this.”

They swam a little farther out, where the water was breaking against the rocks and causing the waves to be a little rougher. Robin’s heart started to pound again and this time it wasn’t because of Alice.

“You can’t fear the water,” Alice told her, like she knew the exact thought running through Robin’s mind – which she really, really hoped she didn’t. “You just have to learn to act in it. If you ever go over in clothes again, take off your boots first. They’re unnecessary weight,” she explained when Robin gave her a curious look. “Your body _wants_ to float. You just have to let it.”

It was easier now, with Alice’s voice carefully explaining, to figure out how to let her body move with a wave, how to dive and get under it and come out the other side without being sucked into the current. Which ways to move and kick that helped and which ones were useless wastes of energy. After a while Alice turned it into a game, diving to tag Robin on her leg and then swimming off. They explored the cove together.

When Alice climbed out of the water to look at the tide pools on the beach nearby the water dripped off her and gathered, sparkling like gems, on her skin. Robin stayed in the water up to her neck and tried to keep her heart from bursting in her chest. She was only mostly successful.

Alice was radiant, incandescent, sunshine made into a human being and Robin ached with a want so fierce it was almost painful.

_“Robin Mills.”_

She froze, legs and arms going completely still in the water until she started to sink and remembered she needed to move to stay afloat. She spun in quick circles, trying to locate the source of the voice.

_“Robin Mills.”_

It was coming from farther out, back around a nearby outcropping. Robin pushed herself forward and swam over to them, careful like Alice had taught her to avoid letting the waves push her into the rocks. When she ducked behind the rocks, now out of sight of Alice, a hand grabbed her wrist. Robin spun and punched out but didn’t quite connect with whoever it was. They ducked, and all Robin hit was water.

“Robin Mills.” It was a person, but only technically. It was a young woman with dark red hair that curled in waves around her face and a tail that moved in gentle back and forth motions to help her circle Robin.

“You have me at a disadvantage,” Robin said. “You’re a mermaid?”

A nod that made her curls tumble forward across her forehead. Dark lips pursed together as she studied Robin. “There is a storm coming,” she said, voice low and musical.

Robin scowled. “The storm already hit,” she said. “I almost died in it.”

“Not that one. That was only a taste. Your friend will be at the epicenter when it hits. You have to stop her when it does.”

A wave of protectiveness so fierce it was almost painful built in her chest. She pulled her wrist away from the mermaid with a sharp tug. “What are you talking about? What do you want with Alice?”

“Not _me_ ,” the mermaid looked genuinely distressed now, using her tail to spin herself in a tight circle. “I can’t say too much. There are forces at work here more powerful than you know.” She looked at Robin with big, pleading eyes that begged her to understand. “ _Protect_ her,” she said forcefully. “She’s not the only kind of guardian we need. Do you understand, Robin Mills?”

Not in the least. The only thing she got was that she was being asked to make sure Alice didn’t get hurt.

Like that was something she’d ever need to be told.

“Robin?” she could hear Alice calling for her now and she turned her head towards her voice. When she looked back to the mermaid, intent on asking more questions, she had disappeared. Only a seashell was floating where she’d once been. Robin grabbed it and started to swim back to Alice.

“Is everything all right?” Alice asked when Robin came back into view.

“Fine,” Robin lied, “just doing some exploring. How were the tide pools?”

Alice smiled, bright and beautiful, and held up her hand. “I found a starfish!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lizardwriter gets co-author creds now because she DESERVES THEM


	9. A Swift and Changing Tide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin has serious discussions with everyone, including herself, and comes out of only one of them the winner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's up a little late, guys! I was having a smidge of a bad depression day but I managed to get it up before midnight so I would consider that a win! 
> 
> Robin chapter!

The first thing that Robin did when they got back to the Roger was find Hook. He was hanging off the side of the ship, using a broad paintbrush to cover one side of the hull in a black tar-like substance. Robin leaned over the railing to shout down at him.

“Hook!”

“You can call me Killian, little bird,” he told her without stopping what he was doing. “We’re there, I think. We’ve reached that point.”

“We need to talk.”

“Can it wait? I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“It’s about Alice.”

Hook immediately tossed his paintbrush to one of the men a few feet away and started to use his legs and good hand to haul himself back up. Robin grabbed his forearm to help him over the railing when he reached the top.

“You’ve got my attention,” he said as soon as his feet were on the deck.

Robin kept her grip on his forearm and tugged him several feet away, out of the earshot of anyone hovering nearby. In a low, urgent voice she told him what happened at the cove earlier that day (leaving out wanting to ravish his daughter, for obvious reasons). He listened intently until she was finished and scratched lightly at his chin with his hook.

“A mermaid?” he asked when she was done. “And she left behind a shell. Can I see it?”

Robin dug into her pocket and handed it over. Hook studied it for a long time, turning it this way and that, before she saw realization dawn on him. His eyes darted back up to her, surprised.

“You know what this is?”

“A shell.”

“With ink from a very rare species of giant squid,” he held the shell up in his hand and grinned fiercely. “Useful for lots of things, the most important of which is its ability to paralyze someone in place.”

Robin looked at the shell in a whole new light. Hook’s grin started to fade as he continued studying it. “What?” Robin asked.

“I’m not sure I like that the mermaids felt it was necessary to give this to us,” he grumbled.  “Don’t tell Alice about this, ok?”

Robin immediately balked at the idea. She scowled at him. “You want me to lie to her?” she asked.

“No. I just don’t want you to tell her about it right away.”

“She deserves to know she’s in danger,” Robin argued.

Hook gave her a hard, stern look. “She’s been in danger her whole life,” he said. “From the moment I took her from that tower my girl’s had a target on her back. If something is happening now, I want time to figure out a plan before she worries herself. So give me time to make a plan. Besides, mermaids aren’t known for their transparency and trustworthiness. It could all be about nothing."

“She _was_ annoyingly cryptic,” Robin said.

“See? It’s probably nothing.” The look on his face said he didn’t believe that for a second and Robin wasn’t inclined to either. “Let’s just keep this between us for a little while, yeah?”

“I can’t promise that,” Robin said stubbornly.

Hook closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose like he was trying to fight off a headache. Worry creased his brow and Robin was struck, not for the first time, by how much Hook cared for his daughter. She was his whole world. Perhaps he did know what was best for her.

“But I’ll consider it,” she finished.

“Aye, well, I guess that’s the most I can ask for.”

“I care about her, too.” The words were blurted before she thought them through. She wanted him to know she had Alice’s best interest at heart, but now that the words were out they felt like they gave too much away. “She’s my friend. Sort of. I mean, I hope. I think we’ve become friends.”

He gave her a look she had a tough time deciphering. “If you do find yourself telling her anyway, give this to her,” he handed the shell back. “She knows what giant squid ink does. I’d rather she have it on her than me.”

Robin took the shell back and cradled it in her palm for a moment before putting it securely back in her pocket. It sat heavy like a weight against her leg. “Do you think she’s coming?” she asked. She didn’t have to clarify who she meant.

“I want to think your mother is right,” Hook said. “I want to think that infernal woman doesn’t know or care about Alice, that if she was coming for her she would have done it a long time ago. I’m not alive today because I only consider the things I want to think.”

Someone called Hook’s name and they both turned to look. He patted her absent-mindedly on the shoulder when he walked away, leaving Robin with a churning mind and a pocket heavy with more than just the shell she carried inside of it.

She tapped her fingers against the side of her leg thoughtfully and then instead of going to see if the men needed help on deck she went downstairs and towards the room she shared with her mother. Since they’d gotten their things back her mother had been doing a lot of reading. Sure enough she was sitting at the cramped desk Smee had smushed into the corner, writing in a notebook. She looked up when Robin came in and carefully closed the book.

“Getting some work done?” Robin asked, voice sounding a little strained even to her own ears.

“Trying to write down everything I remember about the White Kingdom and its rulers,” her mother said. “It’ll be useful trying to barter for sanctuary if I have some cards to play.” She considered her daughter with sharp eyes as Robin shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Something you need, sweetheart?”

She’d always been able to go to her mother for advice. Even during her early teenage years when they’d often butted heads about – now that Robin is older she can admit – stupid things Robin had done. It was natural to sit herself on the bed and curl her legs up underneath her. Her mother turned fully in the chair to face her.

“I wanted to talk to you about secrets,” Robin said.

“Why? Who are you keeping secrets from?”

“No one,” she answered a little too quickly.

The way her mother’s eyes flashed told her it didn’t go unnoticed. She raised an eyebrow in nearly the exact same way she would do when Robin was trying to lie about breaking something. Robin relented under the familiar interrogation.

“Have you ever wanted to tell someone something, but also not because it might hurt them?” Robin asked.

Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “You have a secret weighing on you.”

“No! No. Just…hypothetically.”

“Hmm,” her mother hummed skeptically. “And this something that you’re not saying, is this something bad?”

Robin sighed. “Possibly. Maybe it’s nothing, really.” The shell sitting in her pocket felt heavier just saying those words.

“And this someone you’re keeping it from, someone young and pretty with blonde hair, perhaps? Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

Robin always was a terrible liar. She could feel her face grow warm under her mother’s calculated knowing look even as she attempted to hide it. She had no idea why she had even told Hook she’d try to keep everything a secret. She was obviously not made for that. She tried anyway. “No,” she said, a little sheepishly.

Her mother stood up and walked over to sit next to her on the bed. She put her hand on Robin’s shoulder and gave her a soft smile. “Look, I know you’ve developed a... friendship with Alice. It’s natural, I suppose. Someone here that’s around your age and easy to talk to.”

“Mom – ”

“I just,” she went on before Robin could interrupt, “I want you to be careful how close you get to her.”

Robin frowned. That was honestly not what she thought she’d say. “What? Why? I thought you liked her.”

“I do,” her mother squeezed her shoulder earnestly. “She’s a lovely young woman, but I’m worried you may get too close.”

Robin frowned deeper and shifted her weight just slightly to the side, so that her mother’s hand fell off her shoulder. She wasn’t sure she liked where this conversation was heading, and it wasn’t the reason she’d wanted to talk to her mom, but she had the sense she wasn’t going to be able to get away from it. “And what do you mean by too close, exactly?”

Zelena’s eyes were sympathetic and she didn’t try to put her hand back. “I know you, sweetheart. I can see you getting attached.” She frowned to match Robin, worrying at her bottom lip the same way that Robin knew she did when something was bothering her. “At some point, though, we _will_ be getting off this ship. You will be saying goodbye to her.”

Something deep inside Robin made a defiant noise at that. It almost came out of her mouth, but she beat it down. “Yeah, I know that,” she said instead.

Her mother dropped her chin low to make more direct eye contact, mouth thin in a serious frown. “Do you?” she asked quietly.

It felt like someone sucker punched her directly in the gut. In her mind she _did_ know that they couldn’t stay on the Jolly Roger forever. But the thought of saying goodbye, even if not right at this moment, ignited a tiny tendril of panic inside her. “Of course!” she said, plastering a bright smile on. “Don’t worry, mom.”

Her mother hesitated for a moment before sighing and letting it drop. “So what is this secret?” she asked.

Robin shrugged and stood up, much to the surprise of her mother. “No, it’s nothing. Really. I shouldn’t have bothered you about it.”

“Robin –”

“It’s fine, mom,” she said, lying through her teeth as she backed out of the door, holding her hands up and keeping her smile in place by sheer force of will. “We’ll talk about it some other time.”

She quickly turned and walked away, hoping that for the first time in her life she’d successfully managed to convince someone she wasn’t lying.

 

* * *

 

 

Robin fought with herself all day about telling Alice what happened at the cove. On one hand, she vividly remembered every detail of the fear on Alice’s face when they had talked about her mother and telling Alice that a mermaid warned her she was going to be ‘the center of a storm’ would likely make her react like that again. On the other hand, Alice was her own person, she could make her own decisions, and she had the right to know when something was happening that affected her.

And on another hand Hook, the captain of the ship, who could well decide that she and her mom were no longer welcome onboard no matter what deals had been made, specifically asked her not to tell his daughter. He knew her best.

Okay, maybe that put her over the number of hands that she actually possessed, but it left her no closer to a decision on whether or not to tell Alice.

The men were all below drinking and playing cards, including Hook (and even Robin’s _mom_ , who so far had swindled the men out of a quarter of their money, because her mother was a shark). So, Robin went up onto the deserted top deck to think. It was weird how she almost missed the way the ship moved in the water now that they were safely on solid ground for the moment.

A little chirrup noise alerted her to the will o’ wisp floating gently down from one of the masts to settle on her shoulder. Robin lifted her hand and tickled the underside of the glowing light like she was petting a cat. “What do you think, Willy?” she murmured. Willy flickered a blue color for just a split second and bumped her in the side of the head. If she had to put an emotion to it, she’d think the motion was exasperated. “You think I’m being dumb and should tell her?” Another head bump as an answer. She wasn't sure if she was projecting what she wanted to do onto the will o' wisp, but it certainly seemed like he was encouraging her. It made the decision easier. “Ok, you’re probably right.”  

He darted up and away from her. She lifted her chin to watch him as he flew up the main mast to settle around the crow’s nest, where she could just see a pair of boots hanging off the edge.

Alice, without a doubt.

With her heart pounding against the inside of her ribs for no reason she could name, Robin started to climb up the rigging. Halfway up she saw Alice poke her head over the railing of the crow’s nest to watch her climb.

“Too loud down there?” she asked sympathetically when Robin reached the top.

“A little. Not a great place to think.” She climbed over the railing to sit beside Alice and breathed in the crisp night air, shivering a little in the breeze that was much more noticeable now that they were higher up. Alice shrugged off her jacket and put it over Robin’s shoulders before she could protest.

“I’m fine,” she said when Robin tried to give it back. She looked Robin up and down and smiled, pulling her hat off and putting it on Robin’s head. The hat, which had sat perfectly over Alice’s loose curls, was a little crooked sitting on Robin’s braid. “There,” Alice giggled. “You look like a real pirate now.”

Robin put a hand on her chest in fake hurt. “I didn’t look like a pirate before?” she asked, to more giggles from Alice.

“No,” Alice shrugged, “you just looked like Robin.”

Robin put her arms on top of the railing and rested her chin against them. “Robin’s nothing special,” she said. “A girl with a bow and no magic to speak of.” She leaned her cheek against her arms to smile sadly at Alice.

Blonde curls fell onto her forehead when Alice leaned her own arms on the railing to mirror her. She pointed up at the sky. “Do you see those stars?” she asked.

The sky was full of them, hundreds of constellations in swirling patterns and shapes, some of which Robin recognized and some she couldn’t name if she tried. “Which ones?” she asked.

“Just to the left, there. See the four that sort of curve in a line?”

It took her a moment of searching but she thought found them, the top and bottom two a little brighter than the middle ones. She pointed tentatively. “There?”  

Alice put her hand on Robin’s wrist and moved it slightly farther up. The motion brought them so close Robin could feel her breath on the side of her neck. It made her feel the cold more keenly when Alice moved away again.

“That’s Arcus, the Bow,” she said. Robin knew she could listen to the lilt of Alice’s accent no matter what she was saying, but she paid special attention to this story. “Legend says that a great city was besieged by evil, and a great hero was sent to defend it. During the battle their bow broke, and to abandon the city to get a new weapon would mean the death of hundreds. They picked up the nearest one, a mortal one and not a gift from the gods like their old one had been, and started to shoot their divine arrows again. And the bow, even though it wasn’t made for those arrows, it held strong. It shot sure and true, over and over, and eventually the evil was driven off. The gods were so impressed they took the bow from the warrior and put it in the sky, for protection and as a reminder." 

Robin just watched her for a moment, completely enthralled. There was something about the earnest way that Alice told the story and the animated way that her hands moved through the air. Alice caught her staring and Robin swore she blushed a little. 

"So, you see,” she leaned over and nudged Robin in the shoulder, “I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss someone with a bow and arrow.”

Robin ducked her head and smiled. “Thanks.” She studied the night sky for a moment. The way it glittered and reflected off the sea beneath it, as if there were two skies instead of one. “Do you know any others?”

Alice leaned into her and pointed, tracing a series of seven stars that formed a head, body, and two long legs. “Lepus, the rabbit,” she said. “She died guiding a wounded child home and the gods put her in the sky to thank her.” When she pointed out the little faint star behind it that she always thought was its tail, the open collar of her shirt fell down a little and Robin caught another glimpse of the top of the compass tattoo.

She couldn’t stop her hand from reaching out to gently touch it and Alice stilled underneath her. “You said you got this later?” she asked.

Alice stretched to reach her hand over her shoulder, her fingers brushing against Robin’s when she touched it. “Yeah, the starfish was when I was really young. It was just before everything happened with Papa being captured. Kaia and I were on Wonderland, watching one of the men getting tattooed, and she’d mentioned that she’d been learning. I convinced her to practice on me. Well,” she said, and caught her tongue between her teeth when she gave Robin a sheepish smile. “It didn’t take much convincing, actually. It was the only way I was getting a tattoo on that island anyway. Papa had banned everyone else from trying.”

“Your dad doesn’t know?”

“He doesn’t know about any of my tattoos. He’d _kill_ me,” Alice said with a sigh. “He never really wanted me to grow up to be a pirate. It just sort of happened. Bless him, he tried his hardest, but I couldn’t grow up on the Roger and not want to do what they did.”

“And this one?” Robin put more pressure against the compass still under her fingertips.

“Guiding my own way,” Alice said simply.

"And Kaia did them?" Robin asked. She hoped she succeeded at least a little in keeping the jealousy out of her voice. 

Alice laughed. "No one else on the island would. My father made himself very clear, and he was either too respected or too feared for anyone to disobey him." 

Robin smiled a little to herself. She could see Hook doing something like that. Then something Alice said earlier finally clicked in her head. “Wait, _tattoos_? As in – more than just these two?”

The seriousness vanished, and Alice grinned wickedly at her. “What kind of pirate would I be if I only had two tattoos?” she asked.

Robin nearly had to bite her tongue to stop herself from asking if she could see the other ones.

“You could get one too,” Alice said. She dropped her arm from her shoulder and let it trail along Robin’s forearm. She swore she could feel the touch even through the fabric of Alice’s jacket. “Maybe an arrow.”

“I don’t want Kaia to do it,” Robin grumbled.

Alice laughed, eyes bright with amusement.  “You really don’t like her, huh?”

“I like her fine,” Robin said unconvincingly. “I’m just not sure I would trust her permanently marking my skin.”

Alice looked like she was on the verge of making a joke about that, but thankfully for Robin’s jealousy levels refrained. “But you trust me to?” she asked.

This time Robin did bite her tongue, because the words ‘you can mark my skin any way you’d like’ were so close to coming out she could taste them. She abruptly turned her head to look back at the horizon, if only to look stop thinking about Alice marking her skin with fingernails and teeth. “I know one of them,” she said, voice only a little shaky. She traced the bundle of stars that vaguely outlined a human. “The Hunter. I don’t know his fancy name.”

“Venari.”

“Smartass,” Robin elbowed her gently, which evoked another round of giggles.

“Just underneath him is Triton,” Alice said, pointing a few feet below the collection of stars Robin had traced. “Another hunter, this one of the sea. That line of three stars next to him is his spear. He’s killing Lolligo, the squid.”

That seemed like as much of a sign as she was ever going to get. The seashell from earlier felt like a rock in her pocket. “Here,” she blurted out, reaching under her borrowed jacket into her pocket and pulling it out. “I think this is yours.”

“Another present?” Alice asked, taking it and studying it curiously.

“No. I wasn’t completely truthful with you, back at the cove. I didn’t get distracted exploring.” She knew she had to say it, but she didn’t have to look at Alice while she was doing it. She stared straight ahead and focused on the line where the water met the sky. “There was a mermaid there. She had some things to say.”

“What things?”

“A warning,” Robin said with a sigh. “She said there was a storm coming that you would be in the middle of. I don’t think she meant a literal storm.” She did look at Alice now. The other girl was staring at her intently, eyes nearly grey in the washed-out light of the full moon. “She left that behind when she disappeared. I think that’s supposed to help protect you.”

Alice held the seashell but didn’t look at it. Her eyes stayed locked on Robin. “Why did she come to you and not me?”

Robin shrugged. She wasn’t ready to tell the second part; how the mermaid had told her to protect Alice, and how it was a job she had readily accepted. “She seemed kind of scared,” she hedged.

Alice’s face crumpled. “Of me,” she stated. “Because she thinks I’m like my mother.”  

“What? No,” Robin’s whole body jolted forward a little in surprise. “No, you’re not like her at all. Why would you even think that? If something’s coming we’re gonna help you fight it.”

“It’s not your job!” Alice said, shoulders lifting in a way that told Robin she was getting ready to argue. Robin’s heart ached.  

“What if I want it to be?” she asked.

Alice deflated almost immediately. She was quiet for so long that Robin was worried she’d stepped over a line. “Why would you want it to be?”

“You’re a good person,” Robin said, voice a little hoarse around her suddenly tight throat. “You deserve all the help you can get.”

“After everything you’ve heard about my mother, you still believe I’m a good person?”

It wasn’t a question Robin had to think about before answering. “How can you be sure the sky is blue or that water is wet? They just are. Just like you’re just good. It’s a fact of life. I don’t have to believe it. I know it.”

Alice just looked at her, eyes wide and full of wonder, and then she leaned in and kissed her.

Robin melted into the kiss instantly. Everything in that moment was Alice and everything outside that moment, whatever it was, didn’t matter. All that mattered was the hot burst of air as Alice gasped into the kiss, the smell of leather and sea salt as she moved in closer, the brush of her hair, still damp from their swim, as it fell over Robin’s cheeks.

Her heart pounded in her ears and the rest of the sounds faded away. She couldn’t hear the wind snapping the sails or the waves as they crashed along the shore. All she could hear was the small catch of breath when she brushed her nose against Alice’s as she repositioned her mouth slightly, and the small delighted moan she made when Robin deepened the kiss. Her fingers gripped onto Alice’s shirt to pull her closer while her stomach twisted into pleasant knots. She nearly forgot how to breathe entirely when Alice looped her arms around her neck to pull her impossibly closer and she swallowed the pleased hum Alice made against her lips when Robin let go of her shirt to cup her cheeks. The motion knocked the already precariously balanced hat off her head entirely, but Robin didn’t even care. She’d find it later.

Alice tasted like warmth – like the sea – like magic – and Robin didn’t want to do anything else but keep kissing her forever.

Her fingers trailed along Alice’s cheeks when she finally leaned back and broke them apart, her body as reluctant as her mind to let Alice go. Alice seemed to feel the same way as she chased Robin’s lips for a last quick kiss. When she looked at Robin beneath long eyelashes, eyes hooded and warm, Robin felt it like electricity in every cell of her body. She pressed their foreheads together.

“I’ve been waiting to do that for what feels like forever,” Robin whispered.

“Then why did you stop doing it?” Alice whispered back breathlessly.

It was an excellent point, and one she couldn’t find herself arguing as Alice pulled her back in for another kiss. The world could keep waiting for a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "so the slowburn is over now right?" 
> 
> oh you sweet summer children


	10. Swords and Arrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice teaches Robin a new skill as they both fail at subtlety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice chapter. mostly fluffy filler. enjoy about 3000 words of two nerds flirting.

Robin was teaching the men how to shoot with bows and arrows and Alice was very, very happy about it.

Sure, it was the strategic thing to do. Bows had better range than pistols, were less likely to malfunction, and it was infinitely easier to make more arrows than to buy more bullets. You could light arrows on fire, which was great for ship battles. And if all else fails an arrow made a decent dagger. But that wasn’t exactly the reason that Alice was happy about the training.

Robin was wearing that shirt again. The green one that she’d cut the sleeves off. Ostensibly so that she had more freedom of movement. All it really meant was that Alice had a clear view of the definition of her arms as she aimed, of the twist and pull of her shoulders and back as she drew the bowstring.

Her mouth went dry as she watched, and her entire body felt flushed when Robin turned and gave her that damn crooked smile like she knew exactly what she was doing. She probably did.

The men were not nearly as distracted by Robin as she was. That was probably a good thing since they were supposed to be learning things from her and not fantasizing about running their hands along the muscles in her shoulders. At least, she assumed they weren’t doing that. She couldn’t really be mad at them if they were. The shoulders were impressive.

So was her aim. They’d set up a makeshift firing range using mostly empty burlap sacks filled with leaves tied to nearby trees to simulate people. The men were decent at it. It was still the same concept for aiming, except there was more thought involved, but these were men who sailed. They knew how to take the wind into account for things and they were adapting quickly to learning. Robin was blowing them all out of the water. She’d showed them what they could look forward to by shooting three arrows in quick succession, one after the other after the other, not stopping to check that they’d hit their mark before moving on. All of Robin’s arrows hit the targets directly on the spot they’d drawn for their hearts.

The display of skill and competence did a little more for Alice than she was willing to admit.

Robin was walking up and down the line now, correcting a stance here or a grip there. She was a good teacher - patient and not condescending. She didn't allow the men to get too frustrated when they didn't hit the target right away, pointing out that they were used to a far different kind of combat than archery. Alice could sit and watch her all day, and might actually do that if given the chance. 

Robin left the men to their practice and wandered over to Alice. The cocky smirk she had on when she did should not be as attractive as it was. Alice wanted to kiss it right off her face. Robin could tell, because when she got to the spot where Alice was sitting on the railing she leaned over teasingly.

“Enjoying the show?” she asked, voice low and warm.

Alice looked sideways at her. “Were you putting on a show?” she quipped. “I thought you were teaching the men to shoot.”

“I can do both.”

“Hmmm,” Alice hummed. She swung her legs back over the railing and stood up on the deck, a little too close to Robin for her to stop herself from reaching out and tugging on the strap of her quiver across her chest. Robin drifted forward with the motion. If anyone was looking they were just having a quiet conversation right next to each other. “Trying to prove you’re good with your hands?” she asked.

Robin’s ears got red in the most endearing way even as her eyes darkened a little. She licked her lips nervously, and it was as adorable as it was tempting.

“Miss Alice?”

Alice and Robin both stepped apart a little to look at their interrupter. It was one of the men. He was a good guy, a loyal man to her father, and he was holding Alice’s hat in his hands. Alice could feel the blush start and tried desperately to will it away.

“This – um – fell on me last night,” he shoved the hat out awkwardly. “Thought you might want it back.” At least he looked as embarrassed as Alice felt, pointedly avoiding looking her directly in the eyes. 

She grabbed the hat back quickly and cleared her throat. “Thanks,” she said. She could feel Robin start to shake next to her and kicked out at her. Robin made a muffled yelping noise. He tugged at his collar and mumbled a good afternoon to them before walking away very quickly, and he got out of earshot before Robin burst into laughter.

“That’s not funny!” Alice said to her.

Robin was still laughing as she leaned down and rubbed at the spot where Alice had kicked her ankle. “Sorry,” she said. She didn’t sound remotely sorry in the least. “Maybe I should get back to teaching the men. It wouldn’t do to leave the students without their expert.”

“Expert, huh?” Alice asked with a teasing smirk.

“Hey! I’m a terrific archer!”

Alice moved forward again, closer than before they got interrupted, as close as she could get without touching any part of Robin. “Ok, ace, what do you do when someone is standing this close?”

“Kiss them.”

Alice blinked at the answer, surprised, until she clocked the smirk on Robin’s face. “Really now?”

“If they’re you.”

It took every single ounce of willpower Alice had not to take her up on that offer. “And if they’re not?”

Robin’s smirk grew wider. “I run,” she said.

Alice burst into giggles. Whatever answer she was expecting, serious or teasing, it wasn’t that.

“What?” Robin asked innocently, dimples on full display in a way that made Alice swoon a little. “I have a very specific skill set and engaging someone at close range is not part of that.”

“Shame,” Alice reached up to adjust the way that Robin’s bow was sitting over her shoulder and ran her hand across her arm when she did it. Robin leaned into the touch. “I was hoping you’d make good on that kissing threat later.”

She backed up before Robin could lean in any further and pulled her sword. Holding it out in front of her, she ran her finger along the flat edge of the blade and white sparks trailed behind her fingertip. She tested her thumb against the now dull blade and handed it to a startled Robin, who looked like this was not where she was expecting this conversation to go at all.

Robin held the blade awkwardly at first, arranging her fingers around the hilt the way she would have tried to grip a bow. Alice put her hands over Robin’s to adjust the grip. She smiled at the way she could actually feel Robin’s pulse jump under her fingers.

“What are you doing?” Robin asked.

“You’re learning how to engage an enemy at close range.”

Robin started to smirk again, and Alice rolled her eyes. She walked over and grabbed a spare sword from nearby. Robin’s smirk dropped.

“Are we actually fighting?” She asked, eyeing the sword in Alice’s hand warily.

Alice spun the sword in a lazy figure eight and brought it up into a defensive pose. “I don’t think it’s going to be much of a fight,” she goaded.

It worked like she wanted it to. Robin clenched her jaw stubbornly and lifted her arm to mimic Alice.

“Ok,” Alice said, starting to circle slowly. Robin turned to keep her in sight. “First rule of sword-fighting is to never assume you know how your enemy will attack.” And just before she finished saying the last word she stabbed.

She did it at half the speed she could have, which gave Robin enough time to bounce backwards and swat her sword away. It was inelegant and graceless, like someone trying to wave off a bug, but it worked. Alice barely gave the other girl time to feel triumphant before she swung again, this time in a wide half-circle to her right side. Robin caught this one before it hit as well – just barely. Alice disengaged and hit a third time, a sharp cut to her leg, that Robin swung her sword in a circle to block.

The more she successfully blocked Alice’s attacks the more confident she got. Alice wasn’t surprised when the next time her sword was free Robin immediately brought her sword around in a big arc and hit at Alice. The swing was too wide, and Alice didn’t even have to block it. She darted forward directly into the space between Robin’s arms and held her sword gently across her throat.

“Dead,” she gloated.

Robin dropped her swing and just looked at Alice for a moment. Her eyes flickered all over her face before catching on her lips.

Alice had to bite her lip hard to stop the smug smile she could feel wanting to come out. “Really? This is doing it for you right now?”

“Yeah, kind of.”

Now she did laugh as she stepped back and brought her sword up again. Robin looked as disappointed by the distance as Alice felt. Alice waved her sword a little in a taunt. “Let’s go!” she said. 

Robin caught on quickly. She wasn’t swinging nearly as wide this time, instead keeping her blade closer and hitting at Alice with strong curves and one or two quick thrusts if she thought she saw an opening. Even though Alice was able to block every single attempt at a hit, she could see and feel the skill improving with each one.

There was almost no one on the deck with them, since the men that weren’t at the tree line practicing their archery were dangled off the side of the Roger putting finishing touches on the hull. Alice used that to her advantage. She hopped backwards down the stairs, which made Robin have to switch between watching her feet and watching Alice. When she looked down to make sure she wasn’t about to trip on the stairs Alice darted forward and tagged her lightly in the side.

“Hey!”

Alice grinned at her. Robin retaliated with a series of blows, each one met by Alice’s sword with the sharp sound of scraping metal. She learned quickly, though, and when Alice tried to use the same trick with some barrels as obstacles she was not as easily distracted.

If Robin had more time and practice, they would be a decent match. Robin’s strength and style came from the arms. She used the muscles in her arms and shoulders to play to her strengths, which meant slower but more powerful hits. Alice was quicker. She kept moving in close, ducking under swings to tag Robin on the side or stomach. It sent a little thrill through her every time they got within touching distance and Robin’s eyes would noticeably darken. She winked at Robin and the next time Robin’s swing went too wide she brought her sword-point up underneath Robin’s chin. “Dead.”

“You’re not fighting fair,” Robin accused breathlessly. She was raised on her tiptoes to avoid the sword at her chin. Her chest was heaving, and Alice’s eyes traced a line of sweat that dripped down her neck and into the v of her shirt. _That_ was also not fighting fair.

Alice pulled back her sword and gave a teasing little bow. “Pirate!”

Robin took their moment of pause to catch her breath. She lifted the bottom of her shirt to wipe away the sweat on her forehead and Alice lost the ability to function for a moment. She felt heat all over her skin in a way that had nothing to do with the sun beating down on them. Theoretically she’d already seen Robin’s body when they were swimming, but now she had a completely unobstructed view of every single glorious part of her torso and the way it shimmered with sweat. She heard a clunk as the tip of her sword hit the deck of the ship and she quickly brought it back up before Robin noticed the lapse in hand control.

Alice had to clear her throat twice before she thought she could speak properly again. “Fighting fair is for knights and their squires,” she said, and if it was a little high-pitched she pretended not to notice. “Any real sword fight is not going to follow rules. So, do what you can to win. Again?”

“Yeah, again.” Robin agreed. She swung at Alice immediately and Alice had to kick-start her brain into gear in time to block the blow. They exchanged swings for a moment until Alice stepped in close and hooked her leg around the back of Robin’s knee.

Robin went down hard, and Alice followed her. The sensation of her body pinning down Robin’s nearly made her forget why they were there in the first place. “See?” she said, hovering over Robin with one hand bracing herself against the deck and the other holding her sword to Robin’s left side. “Do what you can to win.”

She gasped a little when Robin tilted her chin up, brushing their lips together very gently. It turned into a whimper when Robin pulled away, and her brain went hazy, so much so that she didn’t even notice a sharp point against her stomach. “Dead,” Robin whispered.

Alice had never been prouder in her entire life. She lifted herself so that she was sitting back on her heels, straddling Robin’s hips. One of Robin’s hands fell on her thigh to steady her and Alice felt the heat of her hand as if it were on fire. Only the thought of the rest of the crew nearby was enough to convince herself to stand up and help Robin to her feet.

Robin flashed the dagger in her hand and put it away into the sheathe on her hip with a smug little grin. This time Alice grabbed her and tugged her around the corner, out of sight of everyone else for a moment, and pulled her by the collar of her shirt into a blistering kiss. Robin groaned into it and her hands came up to pull at Alice’s lower back until their hips pressed together. Alice bit very gently on Robin’s full lower lip, tugging it when they pulled apart.

“And you were the one who teased me about fighting riling me up earlier,” Robin whispered.

Alice tugged harder on her shirt, her hands trapped between their bodies. “I’m sure I don’t recall saying that.”

“Mhmm.”

There were loud footsteps nearby and they jumped apart from each other just as Robin was leaning in for another kiss. One of the men climbed the steps up from the cargo hold and paused as he saw them standing together. Alice gave him a little wave and he nodded and kept walking. They spent a long moment just looking at each other after he walked out of sight, the air between them practically crackling.

“You should get back to teaching the men.” Alice said at the same time Robin blurted out, “Do you want to explore the island later?”

Alice smiled, delighted and endeared by the little blush curling up Robin’s cheeks when she asked that. “Like on a date?” she asked slyly.

“There’s not much else to do around here, unfortunately. We could always have a romantic evening helping re-tar the hull.”

“Romantic evening, huh?” Alice asked, just to see Robin get redder. It worked.

“I don’t usually kiss girls without taking them out on dates too,” Robin said. She rubbed at the back of her neck and Alice was so smitten at that moment that Robin genuinely could have planned an evening re-tarring the hull and she would have joined in. She walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

“See you at sundown.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Alice flirt by hitting each other with things it's canon
> 
> comments feed the fic author


	11. Depths of Symbolism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Alice go on a date. Some other things happen, but that's the most important.

Alice knew full well she was being ridiculous. Robin already liked her. They’d already kissed. They’d been spending a lot of their time together for more than a _month_ on the Jolly Roger now, only sort of counting the time Robin and Zelena had been in the brig. There was nothing different to this hike than the dozens of other times they’d been together before.

And yet, Alice was in a dress.

Dresses on a pirate ship were, in a word, impractical. They offered no protection against the wind or sun, especially a dress with no shoulders or sleeves like the one Alice was wearing, and they covered nothing if you were climbing the rigging. They were easy to rip, easier to fall off, altogether useless. Alice owned exactly one; a pretty blue thing with embroidery along the edges like waves.

She spent nearly ten minutes smoothing her hands down the front of her dress and pacing, trying to decide if she was putting too much thought into everything. She was. She definitely was. Lacing up her boots took less time than overthinking the blue dress had and then she was walking up the stairs and out onto the deck with butterflies in her stomach.

They doubled and then tripled when she saw Robin sitting on the railing and playing with one of her arrows. Neither of them had particularly nice clothes but Robin had opted for a dark green shirt that made it entirely impossible to not stare at her eyes when she looked up and smiled at Alice.

“You look great,” Robin said, eyes roaming up and down like she was drinking every bit of Alice in.

The look in her eyes made Alice feel warm all over. She grinned when Robin met her eyes for a moment and they were at least a shade darker than normal. It told her the dress was a good idea. Robin had a bag over her shoulder and Alice eyed it curiously.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“For later,” Robin said. She still couldn’t seem to stop staring at Alice, and it made her grin when she stepped forward. She nudged Robin’s chin up with her finger.

“See something you like?” she asked.

Robin practically whined. “You’re not being fair,” she murmured.

Alice’s grin widened. “Didn’t we already have this talk about pirates not playing fair?” She let go of Robin’s chin and stepped back, acutely aware they were still very much on the deck of the ship. “You coming?”

There was a significant delay between her walking away and Robin following her down to the beach. Enough that she looked over her shoulder curiously. Robin was giving her such a heated look that Alice felt it down to her core. Alice couldn’t help but smile when they passed the swimming cove, but Robin had caught up to her by that point and took her by the hand, leading her away.

“You think another mermaid is going to interrupt our date?” Alice teased.

Robin gave her a crooked grin that practically tingled. “Was that a date?” she teased back.

“You saw me mostly naked. I sure hope it was.”

Robin laughed and squeezed her hand. “C’mon, it’s a little farther up this way.”

“How do you even know where you’re going?”

This time the crooked grin was embarrassed. “I maybe did some exploration earlier.”

“On your own? Robin!”

Robin led her through the tree line and into the forest itself. Alice, raised nearly her whole life on the open sea, was slightly out of her element amongst the tall leafy trees and thick underbrush. Robin wasn’t. She walked between roots and over fallen tree trunks as easily as if she were strolling across an open field. She kept tight hold of Alice’s hand, gallantly helping her steady herself or climb over a log. It was _very_ charming, even though Robin did give her that stupidly attractive smug smirk every time she had to do it.

When she led them out of the trees Alice gasped. It was a little clearing, almost to the point of being described as tiny, and it had a bubbling natural spring in the middle. Between the quiet sound of the water, the faint roar of the ocean in the distance, and the call of birds, Alice immediately felt parts of herself relax that she didn’t even know were tense. She closed her eyes and held her free hand out and just soaked it in for a moment. This tiny little patch of complete peace.

The peace didn’t go away when she opened her eyes again and saw Robin watching her with a fond smile. If anything, it got stronger.

“I love it,” Alice said quietly, like she’d break something if she spoke louder.

“Good.” Robin let go of her hand to pull her bag off her shoulder and take out a blanket. She spread it out on the grass and then grabbed some rocks to weigh it into place. When she was finished, she sprawled herself out on it and grinned up at Alice, looking exceptionally pleased with herself.

Alice knelt down onto the blanket and leaned over to kiss her; deeply, gently, quietly. Robin looked a little dazed when she pulled away.

“I – um – I got,” Robin fumbled around in the bag and pulled out some wrapped sandwiches. She handed one to Alice when she sat down on the blanket. “With the marmalade you like.”

Alice smiled around the bite of sandwich she took. “How’d you get Smee to part with it?”

“Threatened him.”

“Robin!” Alice smacked her gently on the arm even as Robin laughed.

“How do you think? I told him it was for you and he handed it right over.”

Alice rolled her eyes at the blatant favoritism. “Of course.”

They ate quietly for a little bit, Robin giving her happy, excited glances out of the corner of her eye like she was checking to make sure Alice was still enjoying herself. It was adorable. Eventually Alice put her sandwich aside and laid out on the blanket, soaking the bits of warm sun that made it through the trees.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” she said, voice as warm as the rays of light hitting her.

“I’m technically a princess.”

Alice opened one eye to squint it at Robin skeptically. The other girl was still chewing on her sandwich, sitting up straight now, highlighted by the dappled shadows where the leafy canopy overhead blocked the sun. She just lifted her eyebrows back at Alice, returning the stare calmly. Alice decided she was probably telling the truth. She opened both eyes and half-turned to support herself on one elbow, now fully invested.

“How is someone only _technically_ a princess?”

Robin’s smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “My maternal grandmother was a queen in a really tiny, kind of corrupt kingdom somewhere over there,” she waved her arm in the general direction of the northwest. “My mom and my aunt were her heirs – my mom before my aunt, because she’s older – but neither of them wanted anything to do with it. They ran away from that place when they were young. She died before I was born, but since I’m the firstborn of her firstborn, I could probably try and claim it if I wanted to.”

“Do you want to?”

Robin laughed. “Absolutely not.”

Alice was glad. She couldn’t see Robin on a throne. She always saw thrones as being very constricting – limiting your time and freedom just for the power it provided never felt like a fair deal to her.

“So you never met your grandmother?” she asked.

“No. I guess she wasn’t a very good person most of the time. I’m still named after her, though.”

“I thought you were named after your father,” Alice said with a little frown.

“I am. Robin Cora Mills.”

“I’m named after a grandmother too,” Alice offered. “Alice Jones was my Papa’s mother’s name as well. I never met her either, but Papa loved her dearly and he told me stories a lot when I was younger.” She nudged Robin gently with her elbow. “A princess, huh?”

“Well, I have to be something to keep up with a pirate queen.” Robin smirked at her.

Alice threw her head back and laughed. “Where did you even hear that nickname?”  

“It’s what everyone called you in Wonderland. And all the men. I’m pretty sure the seagulls got in on it, too. Pretty badass, I have to say.”

“You know it’s not an actual title, right?” Alice asked with another laugh.

Robin laid down next to her, not touching but close enough that Alice felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the sun shining down on them. She was watching Alice with bright, curious eyes and her crooked little smile was doing things to Alice’s body. She tucked her arm under her head. “The men seem to listen to you like it’s a title. I always figured it was because you practically run the Roger.”

“Well, they called me it for a long time before it was ever actually something other people called me. Randy even got me a tiara.”

“You have a _tiara?_ ”

“It’s not a real one,” Alice said with a giggle. “Although it was paid for with real money. I think he spent five gold on it even though he knew the gems in it weren’t real. I loved it _so much_ as a child. I was maybe five or six when he got it for me and I’d wear it everywhere. On the deck, during dinner, on furlough in Wonderland. I had very few things growing up that weren’t practical, but I _loved_ that tiara. I still have it in my room.”

“Randy,” Robin pursed her lips in thought. “That’s the one who gave your hat back, right?”

Alice blushed at the reminder and nodded.

Robin made a little humming noise under her breath. “Do you think he knows?” she asked. “About us?”

“Probably. Maybe. He did get hit in the head with my hat.”

“Do you think he’ll tell your dad?”

“Nah. He usually minds his own business. And he likes me, anyway.” Alice grinned at her suddenly – impishly –  noticing the nervous way Robin was worrying at her bottom lip. “Are you scared of my dad?”

Robin stopped biting her lip and gave her a look from underneath long lashes that sent a pleasant shiver up her spine. “I’m scared he might have me walk the plank if he finds out what I’d like to do with his daughter.”

Alice grabbed the collar of Robin’s jacket and tugged her closer, eliminating the space between them. “And what’s that?” she asked, ducking her head forward to kiss Robin before she could answer.

Robin moved into the kiss, putting enough pressure to get Alice to lie backwards again and broke the kiss to hover over her, face flush and eyes dark. She supported herself with one hand and ran the other up Alice’s side, fingertips trailing fire through the fabric of her dress. “Oh, I can think of a few things,” she said, voice so attractively throaty it made Alice swoon a little.

Alice had to fight back a moan low in her throat when Robin dipped her lips down to place warm open-mouthed kisses along the side of her neck. Robin kissed her way up to Alice’s ear, and then kissed just behind it. Alice gasped at the electricity that sparked across her skin and couldn’t stop the moan this time. She could feel Robin grinning against her neck. Gently, experimentally, Robin scraped her teeth along the same spot and Alice made a needy whining noise and grabbed at the back of Robin’s shirt. She had no idea how Robin had found that spot but she never wanted her to stop what she was doing.

“Now who’s not playing fair?” she asked, voice husky.

“All is fair in love and war,” Robin’s lips brushed against her skin with every word and Alice shivered again.

Every part of Alice thrilled at the sensation of Robin’s body pinning her gently but firmly to the forest floor. She ran her hand down the length of Robin’s spine, hand tightening into a fist when Robin sucked against the skin of her neck and then soothed the spot with her tongue. She tugged insistently at the back of her shirt until the other girl continued kissing across her jaw and captured her lips again. She hummed into the kiss and moved her hands to ghost along the warm skin just underneath the bottom of Robin’s shirt in a way that made Robin gasp against her lips.

Even with one hand anchored next to Alice’s head, Robin’s free hand managed to elicit goosebumps on Alice’s skin as it trailed up and down her side. Her fingers dug slightly into Alice’s ribs and Alice squealed and broke the kiss to protest. “Hey!” she giggled. She could feel Robin’s laughter through her chest.

Alice knocked Robin’s elbow so that her arm collapsed and she was lying completely pressed against Alice. “You’re not going to crush me,” she murmured, tilting her chin to kiss her again.

They spent a long time just lying there learning each other. Alice found she _really_ enjoyed kissing Robin. She liked the weight of her leaning into her, she liked the noise Robin made when Alice nipped at her bottom lip, she liked the way Robin would pause when her hands trailed across a new part of Alice’s body like she was asking permission before continuing.

Robin’s hands hovered near the edge of her dress, fingertips drawing small patterns along the skin above her knee. Alice made an impatient noise and grabbed Robin’s hand with her own, putting it firmly against her thigh and moving it up so her dress dragged up with it.

“Alice,” Robin broke the kiss just to smile and nudge her nose against Alice’s. 

Her heart was pounding along the inside of her chest, and the wrecked look of Robin’s mussed hair and thoroughly kissed lips were not helping matters. “What?”

“Nothing, I just like saying your name,” Robin admitted.

The smile Alice gave her was positively wicked. “Good, that’ll come in handy later.”

Robin’s laughter was cut off by Alice threading her fingers through her hair and pulling her back down into another kiss. The world was growing dark and quiet around them and the bird songs were giving way to the nighttime chorus of frogs and crickets. Alice knew they would need to be heading back soon, but she didn’t want to give up the feeling of Robin’s lips on hers and Robin’s hands on her skin. When Robin’s fingernails scratched lightly along the top of her thigh her leg kicked out involuntarily, catching one of the rocks weighing the blanket down. It toppled over and rolled away. Alice and Robin both heard the echoing _clunk_ of it hitting something hollow, a hissing noise, and a sound almost like a gunshot as it dropped out of sight.

Robin pushed herself up off Alice and looked over at the spot it had disappeared. Alice leaned up on her elbows to do the same. Robin’s eyes, previously glazed over and dark, started to get sharper as she looked back at Alice.

“What the hell was that?” she asked.

Heart pounding for an entirely different reason now, Alice followed Robin when she stood up. They went over to inspect where the rock had dropped.

There was a sudden dip in the earth, a place that was probably a solid rock wall at one point but that had been eroded over time by the water and had eventually caved in under the weight of itself. It was a gap in the rock face only about two feet wide, but the cave-in on the inside created sort of a natural rock slide.

Alice nudged Robin aside to go in first, wincing slightly at the feel of the rocks scraping against her knees. Once she was in – and she had to duck initially so that her head didn’t bang against the ceiling – she summoned a series of mage lights to illuminate the place. There was only the remnants of the cave-in before her so she moved forward, into where the rock slide ended and it expanded into a more open space. She could hear the grunts and movement of tiny rocks as Robin followed behind her.

It looked like a subterranean cave. Maybe it had originally been part of a larger system of caves but it was now fairly isolated. The three lights she had summoned originally did nothing to highlight the space completely, but did show her a set of stairs carved into the stone. Wide, long stairs that led a few feet down before stopping, but actual stairs carved carefully and precisely into the stone. They were handmade, unnatural to the cave itself, and a knot started to form in Alice’s stomach.

She was glad when Robin managed to fight her way across the rock slide and stand next to her. She immediately reached for her hand.

“What is this place?” Robin asked, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. “Can you make more light?”

She could, but she almost didn’t want to. She summoned more balls of light anyway, instructing them to spread out in wide circles to highlight the area.

Whatever this was before there was nothing here now. It was definitely man-made. There were banners hung on the walls so old they had decayed into nothing but dusty scraps of fabric. Stools and benches had rotted away into nothing but splinters. Metal lanterns were the only thing to survive the onslaught of time and most of them were toppled over or partially broken, one or two holding the stubborn remains of wax candles.

Alice walked forward and almost fell when her foot hit a groove in the floor.

“Careful!” Robin tugged their joined hands to keep her steady and Alice tightened her fingers in a silent thank you.

Alice ordered the lights to brighten further and they did, suddenly illuminating the entirety of the small space. Her previous trepidation came back as a pressure against her sternum. Carved into the floor was a symbol. It looked like a circle bisected by eight lines, and on each end of the lines was a three-pronged trident. Suddenly the cave, which had felt merely disconcerting and dark before, now felt claustrophobic and sinister. With her free hand she reached down and pulled her hunting knife out of her boot.

Robin, who had been staring at the floor intently, didn’t even notice until she looked back over and saw the weapon in her hands.

“Where did you even _have_ that?” she asked. “Because we were tangled up pretty close together and I feel like I would have noticed a knife.”

“Guess you should have explored with your hands a little more,” Alice said with a wink, trying desperately to dislodge the uncomfortable pit in her stomach. There was a whining sound starting just at the edges of her hearing she just couldn’t shake.

Robin, bless her, played along. “I would love that,” she quipped. “How about we leave the creepy cave and go do that.”

Alice opened her mouth to respond at the same time the whining sound exploded into a high-pitched screech. She shouted and let go of her knife as she dropped immediately to her knees to clutch at her head.

“Alice!”

She could hear Robin shouting her name, but it sounded so distant and distorted. She put pressure against her ears, hugging her head so her forearms pressed into her temples, anything to try and stop the noise. Nothing seemed to help. It was like the sound wasn’t coming from outside her head at all.

“What is that?” she shouted.

“What? Alice!” She could see through squinted eyes Robin kneeling in front of her – concerned and frightened in equal measures. She lifted her hands to cover Alice’s ears too.

Alice just looked at her, pleading. “I need you to get me out of here,” she said.

Robin didn’t hesitate. She immediately stood up and pulled Alice up with her. She slid her arm around Alice’s waist and helped start to guide her back away from the center of the room. Alice made it about two steps before a bright, sharp pain lanced through the front of her skull and she stumbled.

“Shit!”

Robin caught her before she could lose her footing entirely and lifted Alice into her arms. Alice buried her face in Robin’s shirt and concentrated on just breathing, and the closer they got to the cave-in entrance the more the noise receded. By the time they’d reached the spot where they would have to start climbing out it had gone down to a dull buzzing whine in her ears. She tugged on Robin’s hand to get her to put her down. Robin did so, placing her body carefully between Alice and the symbol on the floor. Alice turned and started to climb out.

It was a little tougher getting out than it was getting in. The natural slide the cave-in had created had been fine for leading them down but tended to give and slide under their hands and feet when they tried to climb up. Every once in a while, Alice would have to reach back and give Robin a hand up over certain parts.

It felt like the world’s biggest relief when she finally climbed out onto solid ground and the world was quiet. The noise they'd made climbing out of the cave had scared most of the animals into silence. After a moment the crickets started to chirp again, an owl hooted nearby, the deep voice of a frog sounded off closer to the water. Alice took a deep, steadying breath. Robin climbed out a second later and brushed a piece of Alice’s hair behind her cheek. She cupped her face and Alice leaned into the touch.

“You ok?” she asked quietly.

Alice nodded, holding Robin’s hand with her own to keep it in place. She kissed her palm, and then leaned forward to kiss her quickly on the lips. It didn’t entirely erase the concerned frown she was sporting. Alice affectionately pressed her fingertips against the crease between her eyebrows until it smoothed out.

“Sorry I ruined our date,” Alice said.

Robin’s eyes were soft. “Nothing was ruined,” she said. “Unless you count the knees of my pants.”

Alice looked down at their clothes and couldn’t help but laugh. They were both covered in a fine layer of dirt and Robin’s pants were scraped and scuffed, to say nothing of the state of Alice’s legs, since her dress didn’t offer much protection. She pooled her magic into her palm and when it was glowing with warm white light she waved it towards her legs. The little scrapes immediately sealed up.

“Sure, sure, cool trick,” Robin grumbled playfully. “Can you clean our clothes?”

“No.”

“Then what _use_ is magic.”

Their giggles died down after a moment and Alice looked behind her at the mouth of the cave-in, somehow more ominous and dark than it had been just a few moments prior.

“It’s getting kind of late,” Robin said, almost too casually. “Did you want to head back to the Roger?”

She did, and she also really didn’t. She’d been enjoying her time alone with Robin – a luxury they were rarely if ever afforded on a pirate ship. She knew the Roger was fit to sail and that her father had been talking about leaving as early as the next morning.

Alice sighed regretfully. “We should probably go back,” she said, only barely meaning the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She rolled up the blanket while Robin packed any remaining food back into her bag. She at the very least was happy when Robin took her hand again to walk back. Robin stopped them at the beginning of the path back and just looked at her.

“What?” Alice asked.

Robin motioned towards the dark forest with their joined hands. Alice smiled and called mage light in front of them to brighten their way.

“Magic isn’t useful,” Alice teased her.

Robin made a face at her and stuck out her tongue. “I never said magic wasn’t useful.”

“You said it two minutes ago.”

“Completely unproven lies, but what should I expect from a pirate.”

Alice laughed and smacked her in the shoulder with her free hand. They enjoyed the quiet of the walk back to the ship, and Alice frowned more the closer they got to the shore. They could hear the loud crashing of the waves now and she knew the Roger was just outside the tree line.

“I really am sorry for ruining our date,” she said again.

She nearly ran into Robin when she stopped walking suddenly. Robin turned them and walked her backwards until her back hit the bark of a nearby tree. She ducked her head and kissed her. It was slow and deep, and Alice dropped her hand so she could grip the back of Robin’s neck and anchor her there. Robin cupped her face and deepened it, in a way that sent a slow curl of heat rolling through her body. It was a kiss that promised more than just more kisses in the future, and Alice couldn’t help the tiny whimper that came out of her when Robin pulled away.

“Not a thing in the world could ruin that,” she said, brushing her thumbs along Alice’s cheekbones.

Alice couldn’t argue. Alice could barely _stand_.

They both took a moment to make themselves more presentable before they walked out onto the beach. The men were just finishing launching the Roger back into the water, and they walked into sight of the ship just in time for the resounding splash of the waves leaping upward to accommodate for the new object now floating among them.

Her father was standing at the top of the gangplank when they got to it.

“Where were you two?” he asked.

Alice looked sideways at Robin, who seemed to be at a loss for words to explain and grinned innocently up at her father. “Island exploration,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. “It's dark.”

“I'm not afraid of the dark. I’m a pirate. Also: magic." She summoned a small light orb then let it fade to prove her point. 

“Aye, but you were on land. Land is dangerous.”

“Not with Robin there.”

Robin lifted her hand and gave a little wave at the sound of her name. Her Papa snorted and tried to hide his amusement from them by stepping back and allowing them by. “We leave tomorrow morning,” he said gruffly. “Hope you got all your island exploration out of your system.”

She locked eyes with Robin. In a brief, unspoken moment it seemed they agreed not to tell her father what had happened in the cave on the island. It wasn’t important, Alice reasoned with herself. It was magical resonance. A fluke, obviously caused by something on the island, and once they were off it then it then it wouldn’t matter anymore.

“Did you get in a fight with a tree?” he asked them.

Alice glanced down at their clothes again. As much as they tried to make themselves look better they were still, for lack of a better term, thoroughly disheveled. “Sort of,” she said. “The island isn’t exactly inhabited by anything other than nature.”

“And you explored it in a dress.”

“Freedom of movement,” she argued.

“Robin’s not wearing a dress.”

Robin was also blushing; a fact Alice hoped her father couldn’t see now that it was well past sunset. “I didn’t think to pack one when we were fleeing our home,” she said.

He looked back at Alice, still frowning. “You only have the one dress.” 

“Well, don’t you think it’s good I wear it sometimes then?”

Her father just eyed them both suspiciously for the longest moment. Then he sighed and shook his head. “We’re all going to have to have a meeting tomorrow,” he told them. “The storm did more than just batter the Roger. We’ll have some time and supplies we need to make up.”

“We?” Robin asked.

“Aye,” her papa said almost absently as he watched the men start to tie the sails back into place on the masts.

He didn’t see emotions run across Robin’s face – surprise flowing into pleasure. Alice wanted to grab her and kiss her for the proud little smile that started to dance across her lips. Instead she reached out and squeezed her elbow, watching Robin’s smile grow when their eyes met. For the moment, standing on the ship with the sound of the ocean, and the smell of the sea breeze, and Robin smiling at her like that, everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but is it tho alice 
> 
> also heard ya'll were arguing about robin being a top


	12. Planned and Unplanned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin learns the sneaky ways of pirates and has an argument that's been a long time coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for being patient, guys! more about the APL update schedule at the end of the chapter

Hook brought them all into his cabin the next day to discuss what he called getting the Roger back on its feet. Robin was having a tough time listening to what he was saying because Alice was sitting in front of the windows and the way that the sun hit her, bathing her skin in warm light and highlighting her golden hair like a halo, made it impossible to concentrate. Alice must have felt her looking at her because she caught her eye and winked quickly at her. Robin hurriedly scratched at her nose to hide her smile.

Smee quietly cleared his throat and Robin tried to look like she had been paying attention the whole time. Alice was sitting on one of the chairs near the window (actually on the back of one, with her legs on the cushion, because apparently sitting like a normal human was overrated) and Robin’s mother was leaning against the wall near Hook’s bookshelves. Smee and Archie and another man, shorter and broadly built and who Robin had only ever heard referred to as Grumpy, were all squished together near the desk. Robin was sitting on the desk itself and Hook gently nudged her knee out of the way every time he paced by her. His office wasn’t exactly spacious and with the lot of them it was downright crowded.

“Smee has finished doing inventory,” he was saying. “It was already lower than I’d like from our quick departure from Wonderland and even the stop at White Cliffs didn’t fill it up completely. Not to mention the amount of supplies damaged during the storm and how much we used to get the Roger running again. We’ll need to hit someone.”

“Do we have a plan for that?” Archie asked. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose near his glasses nervously.

“Yes and no,” Hook stopped his pacing to shrug. “No pre-planned targets like when we hit the Whale.” He grinned at Zelena and she nodded back, looking amused. “There are several port cities nearby. Alice and I were discussing last night about doing ‘help, pirates’.”

Robin raised her eyebrows and looked at Alice, who shrugged back at her with a smile. “It’s a ploy,” Alice explained before Robin could ask. “I row into a port looking appropriately lost and bedraggled claiming my ship had been destroyed by pirates. I spend some time mingling, talking with locals, getting information about the comings and goings of ships recently. Talk to some captains if I can manage it. Then meet up with Roger a few miles up the coast and trail our target.”

“And people believe this?” Zelena asked.

Alice’s face transformed from a smug smile to crestfallen and teary in a heartbeat. She widened her eyes and wobbled her chin and took in a shaky breath. “But Zelena,” she said, voice small and pitiful and heart-wrenching, “I’m asking about the ships coming and going because I’m _worried_. There are _pirates_ nearby!”

Robin nearly fell backwards off Hook’s desk laughing at the shocked look on her mother’s face. “That was disturbingly convincing,” Zelena said, struggling against her own laughter.

“Thank you,” Alice performed a little half-bow. “It’s either that or I find a saloon and let men’s tendency to want to show off do the work for me.”

Most of the men in the room looked like they wanted to be offended but weren’t quite sure what their argument against that would be.

“Seems like a solid plan,” Archie said. He looked at Smee and Grumpy who both nodded in agreement. “Alice doing ‘help pirates’ has never failed us before. Nearest port?”

“A few hours out,” Hook said. “One of the lads will be going with her.”

Everyone gave him a surprised look and he stared right back at them, stern and unperturbed. Alice stared the hardest, glaring at her father so fiercely that Robin thought his jacket was going to start smoking. The three crewmembers were smart enough to know to excuse themselves, but Alice didn’t even give Robin or her mother the chance to escape. She wheeled on her father the moment the door to the office was closed.

“I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say you were sending one of the guys with me, which can’t be true because the whole con relies on me looking helpless,” she said in a voice more dangerous for how steady it was. Robin shifted slightly backwards on the desk.

“With everything going on I’ll take the risk that the con doesn’t work in favor of sending someone who has your back,” Hook argued.

“That is _ridiculous_ ,” Alice snapped.

Robin lowered her feet slowly onto the floor like if she didn’t make noise they wouldn’t notice she was still in the room. She inched quietly along the wall towards her mother.

“You think I’m going to let you off this ship alone knowing who’s out there right now? Absolutely not.”

“I’m not a child you can lock on the ship!”

“I’ll go with her.”

It took a moment for Robin to realize everyone was looking at her because she’d spoken out loud. She could feel the heat of her mother’s glare on the side of her head like a physical thing even as Alice and Hook faced her with twin looks of surprise, eyebrows high and blue eyes curious.

She shrugged under the sudden scrutiny of everyone in the room. “She doesn’t have to go alone. I’ll go with her,” she said again.

Alice gave her father a wide, snarky smile. “See? Robin can go with me.”

“That’s not what I – ”

“What?”

“I’m not willingly putting you into danger like that!”

Alice crossed her arms. “So what, you don’t trust Robin?”

“Of course I trust Robin!”

“Great, then problem solved!”

Hook looked about as confused at the end of the conversation as Robin felt. Alice spun on her heels and stalked out of the office, grabbing Robin’s hand on the way out to pull her along with her. It was the wrong move. Robin could see her mother’s eyes lock on their joined hands as she was pulled out the door and the look on her face – part surprise and part suspicion and just a bit of anger, did not bode well for them.  

Robin let herself be dragged all the way down the hall, past several startled crew members who all scrambled out of the way of whatever face Alice was making. Alice took a left, down another side hall, and then threw open a door. She tugged Robin in after her and slid the bolt firmly behind them.

They were in Alice’s room. It was so much like the way she would picture her room to be. It was along the opposite side of the ship as her father’s office, with great big windows that looked out past the stern of the ship. In front of those windows were fluttery blue curtains. A hammock hung from the corner of the room piled high with pillows and below it stood a veritable mountain of books. Charms hung above a four-poster bed that looked like it barely fit in the space. In between a dresser of clothes were more shelves for books, all filled to the brim. Hanging off the side of one of the posts of the bed, Robin noted with glee, was a tacky-looking tiara.

Alice stomped into the middle of the room and kicked a pair of shoes clear across the other side. The thumped hard enough against the wall to rattle the picture frame. Alice started to pace back and forth across the room and Robin, without any other option, perched herself cautiously on the edge of Alice’s bed. Little bits of magic like sparks darted off Alice’s skin whenever she let out a particularly loud curse.

Eventually she stopped pacing and threw herself overdramatically backwards onto her bed next to Robin.

“Feel better?” Robin asked.

Alice puffed her cheeks up with a great big breath and blew it out slowly. “No,” she said petulantly. The sideways look she gave Robin was sheepish and sad. “Sorry.”

“He just cares about you,” Robin said. She reached over and traced the outline of her ear where the blush started, trailing a finger down the side of her neck and slipping through the neck of her shirt to tug it lightly. Alice leaned into the touch.

“I know,” she said with a sigh, her muscles relaxing as her anger left her. Robin wasn’t sure if it was the quiet of her room or the patterns Robin was drawing along the skin of her neck and shoulder but she’d keep doing it just to be sure. “I’m just not a child anymore, you know? We’ve done this bit dozens of times and nothing has ever happened to me. The sudden overprotectiveness is – ”

“Stifling?” Robin suggested when she saw Alice struggling for the right words.

“Yes!”

“Try being the only daughter of a witch.”

Alice gave her a pointed look and it took a moment for Robin to catch up before she started laughing at herself. Alice _was_ the only daughter of a witch. That was part of the problem they were having.

“Speaking of me being the only daughter of a witch…” Robin trailed off. She sighed when Alice rolled her head to the side to give her a curious look. “We might have a problem with my mom.”

Alice lifted herself up onto her elbow. “What sort of problem?” she asked.

“We had a conversation the other day.”

“About?”

“You.”

Alice’s eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared. “Me?” she asked. “Why in the world were you talking about me.”

“My mom is worried,” Robin stopped tracing patterns on Alice’s skin and pulled her hand back. Alice chased it with her own and caught it, lacing their fingers together. “She reminded me that we’re not on the Roger forever.” She felt Alice’s fingers tighten in her own and she squeezed back. “She’s worried I’ve gotten too attached to you.”

There was a long and heavy pause. Alice didn’t let go of her hand, but she did bring her other hand up to start fidgeting with the collar of Robin’s shirt.

“It’s normal for a mom to worry,” Alice said after a moment. Her voice was quiet and soft and sad in a way that Robin wanted to make better.

“She’s right,” Robin rolled her head to the side so she could see Alice, the way the light from the windows made her eyes bluer and brighter, the triangle of freckles just under her chin. “I have.”

“Have what?”

“Gotten too attached.”

Alice’s expression was unreadable, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted in a silent, “oh”.

Robin swallowed down a lump in her throat. She felt like she’d taken her heart and sewn it right across her sleeve, and it was a little terrifying.

And then it wasn’t because Alice’s lips were on hers, demanding and needy. Alice’s hands gripped at her collar, holding her close, and then they were sliding over her shoulders and down her arms and up her sides and everywhere. Every touch was laced with desire. Every kiss was an answer to a question Robin hadn’t fully realized she’d asked. Robin slid her arms around Alice, hands running up her back, fingertips tracing the bumps of her spine. Alice took her hands and lips off Robin only long enough to lean back and discard her shirt entirely.

Robin’s head was spinning, and not just from the taste of Alice’s kisses on her tongue. There was so much more skin to explore now and her hands took full advantage, one splayed between her shoulder-blades to pull her closer while the other trailed up and down her side, dipping into the grooves between her ribs and stopping just short of the fabric of her bra. A silent question.  

“You’re very sweet,” Alice said breathlessly in between kisses, dragging her lips from the corner of Robin’s mouth along her jaw. "Be a little less sweet?"

Robin answered by leveraging her hips up and flipping them. Alice let out a little squeal that was muffled when Robin swooped in for another kiss. She hooked her fingers underneath the sides of her bra and stopped kissing her just long enough to nudge her nose against Alice’s. “Just evening the playing field,” Robin said. Then she straightened up and let go of Alice’s bra to grab the bottom of her own shirt and pull it off. She could feel the muscles in her abs twitch when Alice ran her palms along her stomach. She looked up at Robin with dark, warm eyes that set off a flutter deep in her stomach. She looked a little dazed but Robin couldn’t say she was much better. Alice underneath her, blonde hair mussed and so much pale skin on display, made it hard for her brain to think of anything other than where she wanted her mouth next.

Alice shifted underneath her and lifted herself up so her eyes were level with Robin’s chin and her mouth at the perfect height to start pressing warm kisses against her throat. Robin let out a shaky breath. Pressed together so close, warm skin on warm skin, she could feel every hitch of Alice’s breath. Alice’s hands moved over her ribs and stomach, ghostly touches that tickled as much as they left trails of goosebumps. Robin threaded her fingers into the curls at the back of Alice’s neck and stifled a groan when Alice’s hands came to rest on her belt. She fumbled with it, fingers and metal knocking against Robin’s stomach, and it slowed them down enough to let them think.

Her hands came to a stop with her thumbs drawing slow circles against Robin’s hips. “We should probably – ”

“Yeah,” the word took all the breath Robin had left in her lungs. She had to inhale before she spoke again. “We’re sort of just – ”

“Reacting,” Alice finished. She sighed and let her forehead drop onto Robin’s shoulder. Her nose nudged along Robin’s collarbone, but it was more comforting than incendiary now.

“Maybe now’s not the best time,” Robin said.

She could feel Alice’s smile against her skin even if she couldn’t see it. “When will there ever be a best time on a ship full of pirates?”

With every ounce of willpower in her body Robin disentangled them and stood up, her knees nearly knocking together with how shaky her limbs felt. The warm look in Alice’s eyes hadn’t faded as she leaned back on her elbows and just looked at Robin for a moment.

“Any chance you’ll keep the shirt off?” she asked with a grin.

“I don’t think that would be wise,” Robin said. She took a long moment to drag her eyes all the way down Alice’s body and back up again. Sky blue had turned a much darker cobalt when their eyes met again. Robin licked her lips. “But I can understand the temptation.”

Alice let herself fall backwards and threw her arm over her eyes dramatically. “Why are we so damn responsible?” she groaned.

“Because we have to be.” Robin scooped Alice’s discarded shirt off the floor and tossed it at her. It hit her in the stomach, but Alice didn’t move to grab it. “Please put that back on before I forget all the reasons why you should.”

“Maybe I want you to forget those reasons,” Alice grumbled even as she tugged the shirt back on in sharp, jerky motions of her arms. When her clothes were back on in some semblance of order she looked over at Robin, eyes big and pleading as she scooted backwards across the bed until her back hit the wall. “Ok, so no shirts off.”

“Correct,” Robin nodded.

Alice opened her arms and pouted. “Can you still come kiss me, though?”

Robin smiled so hard it hurt her cheeks. “I think that can be arranged,” she said. She kicked off her boots and climbed onto the bed, shuffling only a little awkwardly across the comforter until Alice could loop her hands around her neck and pull her into a kiss.

They lost track of the time they spent sitting there, talking in between kisses and often making each other laugh too much to kiss properly.

“I think that’s what drew me in completely,” Alice said when Robin was recovering from a laughing fit after Alice had recounted the time she’d stuck a fish in Smee’s hat and had him convinced a ghost fish was haunting him by smell.

“What?” Robin asked, still giggling.

“Your smile.” Alice placed a kiss on the part of her cheek just next to her mouth. “The dimples are cute.”

Robin blushed. “I used to get teased about them as a kid,” she admitted.

Alice looked so genuinely offended that Robin almost laughed again. “How _dare_ they,” she said, and then Robin did laugh.

It was cut short by a knock on Alice’s door. They both looked at each other curiously and then at the door like it would suddenly turn invisible and reveal the other side.

“Alice?” Zelena’s voice asked. “Is my daughter in there with you?”

Robin winced.

“Don’t answer that I know she is. Robin, I need to speak with you please.”

Robin ducked her head down, so she was half-hiding behind Alice’s shoulder. “Do you think if I’m really quiet she’ll go away?”

“No,” Alice tugged her arm until she sat up properly and shoved her gently off her bed. Robin gave her a wounded look.

Robin sighed and stood up tall, tugging at her clothes to get them straighter. She ran a hand over her braid, which at this point was almost completely undone. “How do I look?” she asked.

“She’s going to guess immediately.” Alice shuffled so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her heels kicking against the side.

Robin sighed again, louder and longer this time. “Yeah, I know,” she said miserably. She went to open the door and gave her mother her most winning smile. “Hi, Mom.”

“Robin,” her mom crossed her arms and leveled her with a look She tilted her head forward to look at Alice who gave her a small wave. “Alice.”

“Zelena.”

“I need a word with you, please,” her mother said flatly.

Robin made a hand motion as if to say ‘we’re talking right now’. Zelena rolled her eyes. “In private. Sorry, Alice.”

“That’s ok!” Alice popped to her feet cheerfully. “We’ll be almost to the port my father mentioned by now. I’ll go and see if the men need any help before we get going. Pack a few things and meet you upstairs in an hour?” she asked as she brushed past Robin and Zelena to get out her door.

Bless Alice Jones for giving her a built-in reason to escape the conversation that was about to happen. Her mother didn’t say a word after Alice had walked away, instead turning on a point and walking in the direction of their room, assuming Robin would follow. Robin did follow, the whole time feeling like she was a kid again, being walked to her room to be scolded for breaking a rule.

After she closed the door behind her, her mom stood in the middle of the room for a moment before she snapped her fingers. The walls briefly glowed a bright green before the light faded. When she turned to look at Robin, finally, her face was almost entirely unreadable.

“Do you enjoy doing the exact opposite of everything that I’ve ever said to you?” she asked.

Robin’s hackles went up almost immediately at the argumentative tone. She stuck her hands deep into her pockets and scowled. “What do you mean?”

Her mother waved her hand at Robin’s appearance. She hadn’t looked in a mirror, but she could guess at how disheveled she was. “Did you sleep with her?” she demanded.

“What? No!”

“That’s the only thing you could have said that surprised me,” her mother snapped.

Robin clenched her jaw. “It’s none of your business even if I did,” she said.

“It is my business, Robin! _You_ are my business.”

“Maybe when I was fifteen!”

They were standing toe to toe at this point, parallel images of arms clenched to their sides and eyes flashing. It was a good thing her mother had cast whatever spell she had on the walls because she didn’t want the men to hear the way their voices were raising.

“We just had this conversation,” her mother hissed out. “I _just_ told you not to get too close. Did you immediately leave that room and disobey me, or did you wait a few hours first?”

A few hours, Robin’s brain supplied, but she hitched her chin up stubbornly and kept silent. It was enough of an answer for her mother. “Ridiculous,” she growled. She turned to stalk to the other side of the room. “It’s like every word I say to you, you go out and do the exact opposite.”

“You can’t tell me what do all the time anymore,” Robin told her. “You can’t order me around and you especially can’t tell me who I can and can’t fall in love with!”

The silence that followed that was its own entity. Her mother turned very slowly to look at her. “You’re in love with her?”

“No,” Robin said, even though the word felt heavy and wrong on her tongue.

“I told you,” her mother’s eyes sparked to life with anger, nearly lit from within. “I told you not to get too close!”

“I told you I could handle it!” Robin argued back.

“You’re not making responsible decisions but you’re asking me to trust your judgement! I’m just trying to protect you!”

“Responsible decisions like whatever you did that made the duke send his mage killers after you?” Robin spat. “How were you protecting me then?”

It was too far. Robin knew it the minute the words had finished leaving her. She wished for a desperate second to have the ability to pull them back.

Her mother’s face turned to stone and her eyes narrowed. The spark in them died a little. “You’re going to end up with a broken heart,” she said, voice flat. “I’m just trying to spare you the pain.”

Robin swallowed around the fist clenching inside her chest. “I can take care of my own heart.”

“I hope that’s true.” Her mother snapped her fingers again and the walls flashed green. She moved past Robin to go out the door, not even brushing against Robin as she walked by. It hurt more than she thought it would.

“Mom.”

There was no response and Robin sighed around the heavy feeling in her chest. She waited long enough that she was sure her mother wasn’t just outside the door before grabbing a bag and leaving as well. Alice was hovering near one of the lifeboats, talking with Smee. Even the smile she gave Robin when she approached didn’t quite clear the guilt from her conscience.

“Ready to go?” she asked, motioning to the lifeboat. It had taken enough of a beating during the storm that they could sell their story of escaping a pirate attack.

Robin tossed her bag into the lifeboat and gave Alice a smile that, if the look Alice gave her was any indication, was not nearly as convincing as she thought it was.

“Yeah,” Robin said. “Let’s go on an adventure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay an adventure! nothing will possibly happen on it i'm sure! 
> 
> hey guys, so new update schedule news. liz is an absolutely invaluable source of scene ideas and dialogue and general awesomeness (and is currently busy with family stuff for a few weeks) but the bulk of the writing is done by yours truly. in an effort to keep up with my self-imposed twice a week update schedule i overdid it and burned myself out. to stop that from happening again APL updates will be slightly farther apart although i'll be doing my best to keep them at least weekly. 
> 
> sorry! i know we're all desperate for Robin/Alice content at all times.


	13. Cogs in Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of "help, pirates!" begins, the girls make some new friends, and self-control is tested now that they're on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice chapter. mind the ratings bump! it's not for exactly what you think but it's not NOT for what you think...
> 
> Also HUGE credit to Liz this week who not only wrote a portion of the chapter but is the only reason the end of the chapter goes the way that it goes

“Why am I the one doing all the rowing?”

“Because I like watching your arms,” Alice said honestly.

Robin dropped the oars and stared at her. “Seriously?!”

Her answering nod was cheerful. Robin huffed and grabbed the oars again.

Alice allowed herself to sit back and enjoy the view for a moment. No one was around to see them. Her papa had sent Randy up to the crow’s nest to watch them row to shore through the spyglass and odds were he already knew, plus her back was to the Roger, so she may as well allow herself to soak in the stunning sight that was Robin’s arm muscles straining against the pull of the water on the oars.

She bit her lower lip.

“Are you just going to openly lust after me the whole way to shore?”

“Possibly,” Alice replied with a grin.

Robin narrowed her eyes at her. “You realize if you keep this up I’m going to have no choice but to kiss you senseless,” Robin warned.

Alice’s smile only grew. “I kind of hope so.”

Robin cracked a smile. “Cheeky.”

Alice sighed. As nice as that sounded they had a job to do, and it was never without an element of danger. Danger she was now dragging Robin into. Alice knew she could handle herself and she trusted Robin completely, but things could always go south and when they did it happened quickly.

“We’d better go over the plan again,” she said.

Robin gave her a funny look.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Robin shook her head. “You sounded just like your dad just then.”

“Take that back,” Alice said.

Robin smirked and shook her head.

The words reminded her of something, though, and she wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Robin was smiling and relaxed now, but Alice could still see the tension in the set of her jaw. She didn’t want to make it worse, but she also wasn’t sure she wouldn’t make it better. “Speaking of our parents,” she started, and Robin’s body tensed immediately, “things seemed kind of icy with your mom when we left.”

Robin’s smirk vanished from her face and she rowed a little harder – not that Alice minded the view. “We had a fight,” Robin muttered.

“About you coming with me?”

“Just about you, actually,” Robin admitted. “A continuation of our discussion the other day except…”

“Less discussion, more yelling?” Alice guessed.

Robin nodded. “I said something I shouldn’t have. About her past. Truth is, I don’t know the details. I’ve never asked. But I know she’s the reason we had to run.”

“She loves you –”

“Sometimes that love is smothering,” Robin snapped. 

Alice contemplated that for a moment. Robin loved her mom. It was easy to see. Her anger right now was partially self-directed, Alice suspected, and that wouldn’t serve them well on their mission. “I meant she’ll forgive you. Whatever you said.”

Robin’s face softened a little. “Maybe she needs to be forgiven, too.”

“Was she saying I’m no good with a sword?” Alice joked. “Because then I agree.”

Robin cracked a grin. It was like the sun coming up after a storm. “No one would say that.”

Alice beamed. “Damn straight.”

“Can we just forget about my mom and your dad? Enjoy being away from everyone and getting to spend some time together?” Robin asked, setting down an oar to reach out a hand to Alice.

Alice took it with a smile. “I can do that,” she agreed. “You know what to do when we hit shore?”

“Act wounded and helpless.”

Alice nodded. She tapped the bag with the grease and soot they were going to smear on themselves just before they reached shore with her foot. Their clothes were already torn and tattered (which left even more of Robin’s skin on display for her to appreciate). The lifeboat had taken a beating from the storm already. There was nothing they had to do to it to make it look like it had survived hell because it already had.

“We’re not going to rob these people, right?” Robin asked as she got back to rowing.

“Of course not!” Alice said. “We’re going to look for a good target. A wealthy ship, something that seems like it belongs to someone who can afford to lose some money. We’ll ask around. See what kind of navy presence is in the area. We might even enjoy ourselves.”

Robin gave her a dubious look. “You and I have different definitions of enjoying ourselves,” she said.

“Not too different, I hope.”

She rolled her eyes, but Alice could see a delightful blush color her cheeks. For someone who kissed like her lips were made to fit Alice’s she got so easily flustered. But then, Alice supposed ruefully, she was much the same way.

Robin stopped rowing when they got in sight of the shore and they took a few minutes to purposefully rough themselves up. Alice took a great amount of joy in the displeased look on Robin’s face when she grabbed a handful of soot from the bag and tossed it at her so it splattered all over her side.

“Authenticity,” she said with a grin. She also tugged the hair tie out of the end of Robin’s braid and undid it, running her hands through it and tugging it gently to muss it up. Robin made a small sound in the back of her throat when she did it that was _very_ interesting, and Alice filed that away for future reference.

Robin returned the favor by dipping her hand in the bag and rubbing soot across Alice’s cheek. Alice blew her cheeks out to make Robin laugh. She was happy when that worked and happier when Robin took the opportunity to sneak in a kiss. She melted into it for a moment, warm lips chapped by sea air, and tried not to feel too disappointed when she pulled away.

They let the boat drift for a time, to look like they had been rowing for a while and were simply tired, and it wasn’t too long before they spotted a fishing boat. Alice half-stood in the boat to wave her arm and hail them.

“Help!” she called.

It took a moment, but she could see bustling on the deck and soon it was turning and drifting towards them. Alice had to commend the man at the helm. He navigated it right alongside them without ever being in danger of crushing them together.

“Here!” one of the men reached a hand down from the side to help them up. Robin helped support Alice as she climbed up the side of the fishing boat and Alice nearly kicked her on purpose when she ran her hand along Alice’s calf as she did so.

She glared at her around the arms of the man pulling her up and Robin blinked innocently at her. The brat. Robin accepted his hand up as well and soon they were both huddled on the deck of the small boat. Alice leaned heavily against the railing and Robin did an excellent job of letting her arms hang heavy with exhaustion.

There were only four or five men on the boat, all varying between middle-aged and downright elderly, with the red and ruddy skin of men who’d spent most of their lives fishing the sea.

“Are you lasses all right?” the one who’d helped them asked tentatively. His friend hissed and hit his arm.

“Course they’re not all right!” one of the other men boomed. “Y’think they went fer a pleasure cruise in a life boat and decided to visit the shore? Daft-wit.”

“Thank you,” Alice told them. She made her voice small and tired and one of the men looked at her with sympathy. He looked like he might have a child or two their age. “There were pirates,” she said. “Farther out.”

The men mumbled uneasily at each other. Robin caught Alice’s eye.

“Are there any navy ships around?” Robin asked. “Someone we could report them to?”

“They take your ship or destroy it?” the one who looked like a father asked gently.

“Destroyed,” Alice said.

“Was there anyone else who – ”

Alice made her voice choked, her chest heaving with a false sob. “No, we were the only ones.”

“There’s no navy nearby,” a third man scrubbed at his stubbly chin. “We can get you to shore. Clean you up a bit. I’m sure there’s a boat t’ take you to one of the bigger ports in the mornin’.”

“Thank you,” Alice said again. Robin reached out a hand to tug her closer and Alice went willingly. They sat down and huddled together as the men set about rearranging the sails and changing course. Alice saw at least three ways they could have done it more efficiently but kept her mouth shut.

The town the men delivered them to was about twice the size of the village at White Cliffs. It was composed of rows of two-story houses with thatched roofs and wooden shutters. There seemed to be a central square that everything branched off from. As the men helped unload them one of them ran off towards the square and came back with a round, middle-aged woman. She looked them over with sharp eyes, not unkindly, and she tutted at them.

“I said we should get more patrols out here,” she scolded the man who got her, like it was his fault. “I said sometime soon some poor people would get scuttled. But does anyone listen to me? No sirree.”

“We helped them, Granny,” the man defended, hands up in surrender.

She just scoffed at him and grabbed Alice gently but firmly by the arm and led her towards the square. Alice was still attached to Robin by the hand so she was tugged along as well. As they got closer to the square Alice could see it was positively bustling with activity. People were building what looked like booths or stands, some were hanging strings of garland between buildings, kids were running underfoot. One screeched to a stop in front of them so quickly it sent up little puffs of dust around his feet.

“What happened t’you?” he asked. He had curly dark red hair and several of his baby teeth missing that made air hiss through when he talked.

“Pssh,” Granny made a shoo-ing motion with her hands at him. “Manners! They got attacked by pirates and we’re gonna help them.”

Already big brown eyes widened until they were almost in danger of falling out of his face. “Mam says if I’m bad and don’t eat my greens pirates will get me,” he said.

“Your mam is right,” Alice said seriously. The way that Robin’s hand tightened around her fingers was the only indication that she was fighting to keep composed. Alice squeezed back and her laughter stayed in her chest.

Despite Granny shooing him away their little tagalong followed them, chattering a mile a minute the whole time. In the few minutes it took for them to be led into a bustling inn and sat down at a table as Granny went to set them up with a room with warm water to wash up, ‘and some clean clothes and food, poor dears’ they had learned there was a midsummer festival being held that night, that he had lost his front left tooth that morning, and that Alice was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

The young woman who came downstairs with a bundle of clothes in her hands looked genuinely offended by that. “Excuse you?” she said to him, tapping his foot.

“S’rry, Ruby!” he said. He pointed at Alice and grinned. “Her eyes look like the sky.”

“If you’re going to be rude in my own inn you can leave,” she told the little boy.

“Not your inn!” Granny’s voice called.

“In my own grandmother’s inn,” Ruby amended.

“S’not rude!” the little boy crossed his arms and pouted. “It’s the truth and mam says you always gotta tell the truth!”

Alice couldn’t take it anymore. She burst into laughter and Robin wasn’t far behind. “Sorry,” she said as she caught her breath. “It’s been a long day and – ”

“And you two should rest up,” Ruby said sympathetically. She handed the bundle of clothes in her hands to Robin. “Here, those should fit. Don’t worry about giving them back. I grew out of them years ago.”

Robin took them with a grateful nod and they only lost their little redheaded shadow when they hit the stairs leading up. Ruby chased him away gently with her foot and he grumbled but left, promising over his shoulder to find them at the festival later.

“What’s this about a festival?” Alice asked.

Ruby shrugged. “Midsummer thing. Everyone gets trashed, dances a lot, wear flower crowns.” Her eyes darted over to them. “Couples jump over fires sometimes.”

“On purpose?” Alice asked. She wasn’t sure she liked the way that Ruby was regarding them. Like she knew more than she was letting on. Like she could see right through them. Alice sincerely hoped she couldn’t, at least not about the important stuff.

Ruby and Robin both laughed at her. “Yeah,” Robin said. “It’s like a bonding experience. The strength of your relationship forged in fire, that sort of thing.”

Alice raised an eyebrow at her and Robin shrugged. Ruby stopped them just outside a room. “There’s no full bath but there’s a tub of warm water to wash up,” she said. “Tomorrow we’ll see about getting you passage. I’ll come get you in a little bit?”

Robin nodded. “Thanks, Ruby.”

The room was small but comfortable. There was a bed in the corner that Alice pointedly avoided looking at, vivid memories of miles and miles of Robin’s skin on display and her hands running over it playing through her mind. It was creeping towards dusk now. She could see light in the sky starting to fade through the window. Robin went immediately over to the half-tub full of water and dipped a towel in to start wiping off her face and arms. Alice laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” Robin demanded. “You got this shit all over me, Alice!”

“We had to make it look authentic,” Alice reminded her with a giggle.

Robin growled. “I’m going to authentically hurt you.”

“Unlikely.”

“Turn around,” Robin told her, twirling her fingers in a circle. Alice raised an eyebrow at her. “I have to take my shirt off.”

“Robin,” Alice told her slowly, like she was explaining to a child, “I saw you with your shirt off _this afternoon_.”

“I know that!” Robin said. She blushed furiously, and Alice couldn’t help but find it adorable. “I meant I have to take everything off. This grime is even in my bra. You _threw_ it at me.”

“I won’t look,” Alice said, covering her eyes with her hands and then making no attempt to hide the way she peeked through her fingertips. When Robin circled her hand again she sighed and turned around to look at the wall. She walked over to the bed and slipped out of her skirt to replace it with the one Ruby had given her. The shift underneath her shirt was still mostly clean so she kept that on and buttoned a borrowed white shirt over it instead. The breeches and open-necked shirt she left for Robin, knowing she’d be more comfortable in them.

“I don’t know why I have to turn,” she said under her breath.

“I’m removing the temptation,” Robin told her.

Considering that Alice was hyperaware of every splash of water and rustling of fabric from behind her it didn’t feel like the temptation went very far. She sat on the bed facing the wall and sighed. An idea came to her, and she pulled the same trick she’d done to her clothes after their date, running her fingers through her hair and across her cheek and feeling the tingle of magic as they cleaned. She grinned at her own hands, triumphant. 

“I could just magic you clean,” she said cheerfully.

“Yes, well, that should have been offered before clothes were removed. Besides, what if Granny or Ruby noticed that the water wasn’t dirty?” Her voice dropped, becoming lower and more concerned even though they were alone. “Magic is worse than piracy, remember?”

Alice forgot why she was looking away and turned around to reassure Robin and stopped in her tracks. Robin had her back to her, still standing with her hands in the tub of water, and the light of the setting sun coming through the window washed the skin of her back in a glory of reds and golds. Alice’s eyes followed the line of her back, the way that it dipped into her lower back where the edges of her trousers sat. She could see the twin dimples on either side of her spine and the way that her shoulder-blades cast shadows against her skin. Her hair was out of its braid and brushed over one shoulder as Robin worked the dirt out of it. She could barely breathe, and her fingertips tingled with the want to touch.

“You’re looking at me,” Robin whispered, voice hitching.

“I’m not sure I can stop,” Alice admitted. She stepped forward and gave into the urge, trailing her fingertips up the curve of Robin’s spine. She could feel the shiver that followed in its wake.

Robin looked over her shoulder, brushing aside the curtain of her hair, all flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and Alice cupped her cheek to pull her into a kiss. It was a harder kiss than before, sparked by the coil of tension Alice felt deep in her abdomen, and Robin turned into it hungrily. The shirt she’d been clutching to the front of her chest dropped as she turned into the kiss and Alice, attached at the lips, could feel the curve of her breasts as they pressed against her. A series of bright sparks exploded behind her eyelids and she had no idea if it was her brain reacting to the feeling or her magic going off. The way Robin gasped into her mouth told her it might be a little of both.

Robin kissed back with such ferocity that they stumbled backwards. Alice’s knees buckled as they hit the bed and Robin – Robin who Alice was now realizing had asked her to turn away to remove the temptation not because she didn’t trust Alice, but because she didn’t trust herself – gave her a little push backwards. Alice let herself fall back, body on fire when Robin straddled her and sat back on her thighs, hips and legs pressed together. She looked at Alice so intently, then. Lip caught between her teeth, pupils blown so wide they nearly eclipsed the dark forest green her irises had become.

Alice drank in the sight of her, trailing her eyes across her chest. She followed the curve of her breast where it dipped in between them, mapping the sight in her brain, memorizing her beauty. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips involuntarily as she imagined tasting the expanses of skin on display, flicking her tongue against soft skin, eliciting moans that could unravel her. When her eyes reached Robin’s again she was met with a look of unrestrained desire so powerful she was surprised she didn’t explode from the heat of it.

Robin lunged down, and they kissed again, hungry and hurried, lips barely parting for an instant before connecting again. Alice raked her nails down the bare skin of Robin’s back and was rewarded with a throaty groan.

A single firework popped off outside and it was Alice’s turn to groan when Robin pulled them apart, breath falling in sharp puffs against Alice’s lips. “We should stop,” she said.

“I don’t want to,” Alice whispered back.

“We shouldn’t do this now,” Robin gasped even as her fingers slid over the buttons on Alice’s borrowed shirt, popping the top one open.

“Why not now,” Alice whimpered into Robin’s mouth only to have the complaint swallowed by a kiss.

Robin pressed her forehead against Alice’s, fingertips stroking gently up her neck and across her temples in a gesture both calming and incendiary. “Alice, I don’t want to give in to _right here’s_ and _why not now’s_ ,” she said. “We’ll have plenty of time.”

Alice trailed her hands across her shoulders and down her arms to grab her wrists, running her thumbs along the inside and stopping at the pulse that was thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings under her fingertips. It wasn’t true, her brain railed. They didn’t have plenty of time. They had less time each day and Robin saying that they did – no matter how much she wanted to convince them both – did not make it real. Her fingers tightened a little, thumbs pressing into Robin’s palms, like she could hold them in this moment.

They were both startled nearly out of their skins by the knock on the door.

“You two all right in there?” Ruby’s voice asked. There was a knowing edge to it that made Alice look askance at the door. There was no possible _way_ Ruby could know what was going on in their room. “Festivities are about to start.”

Robin rolled off her and grabbed the clothes Alice had left for her on the bed. She pulled the shirt on in short, jerky movements. She did the same with the trousers – and Alice tried not to enjoy the curve of her butt as she pulled them on, really, she did, but she was only human. They were a little short, like they were from a time before Ruby hit a growth spurt, but they worked just fine when Robin tucked them into the tops of her boots.

A smirking Ruby greeted them when Alice opened the door. She looked them over with shrewd, sharp eyes and when she took a deep breath her nostrils flared. For some reason the smirk grew.

“Well, don’t you two look better cleaned up,” she said. “Ready to join the fun?”

Alice’s heart was still pounding against the inside of her ribs and from the look on Robin’s face she was also resisting shouting ‘fuck the mission’ and slamming the door in Ruby’s face. But they’d come here for a job, and a town full of drunk people with loose lips and low inhibitions was the perfect pool of information they needed.

Robin’s hand slipping into hers as Ruby led them downstairs grounded her. She looked back to meet her eyes and tried to bite down the words that battled against the inside of her teeth. She wouldn’t say them, but she could think them all she wanted, and maybe that would be enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have started to refer to this as plot-blocking you're welcome
> 
> also i hope you guys enjoyed this mostly fluffy filler/set-up chapter because we're back on our bullshit in a big way next week fair warning remember i love you


	14. New Friends, Old Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice and Robin enjoy the festival, gather information, and make a surprising discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice chapter. sorry it's late you guys. hope everyone in america had a safe 4th of July!

The square outside had completely transformed now that the sun was down. The large square was broken into several smaller sections. It was lit by lanterns covered with shades of cloth, so they threw out multicolored beams of light. There were large bonfires in several parts of the square. Children ran around with flower crowns and necklaces of posies. One of them stopped and reached up with one until Alice ducked her head and let her put a flower necklace on her. Robin grinned and squeezed her hand.

A quartet of musicians were in one corner playing lively music for people to jump and dance around to. There were games of chance and skill in another corner. Alice saw Robin eyeing a game where the booth runner was asking people to throw burlap sacks of sand through different sized holes, calling for them to test their hand at a game of accuracy and precision.

Alice let go of her hand to pinch her in the side. “Don’t,” she said.

“What?” Robin asked, with a slow blink of innocence.

“You guys should have fun!” Ruby encouraged. She’d disappeared momentarily and returned with several flower necklaces of her own, plus two tankards she thrust into their hands. Alice took a cautious sip. It was some kind of spiced cider that burst with flavor on her tongue. She took a bigger gulp as soon as she tasted it.

As she continued to sip she scanned the crowds. Her eyes automatically picked out people she knew would have the information they needed. The sailors who’d pulled them from their “shipwreck” lifeboat were there, and well on their way to getting smashed. They shouldn’t go back to them for more information. They wouldn’t have anything new and it would look suspicious to ask the same questions twice. Their best bet would be either the dockhands – mostly young men who would be easily swayed by a pretty face and loved to gossip with each other, or their fellow travelers. It was easy to pick which sailors were fisherman and which were on merchant ships. The merchants were dressed in cleaner, sharper clothes, some of them with jewelry, but they walked the same way the fisherman did, as if their legs weren’t used to the land not rolling underneath them.

Alice would have walked that way too, if she wasn’t controlling it on purpose.

“There’s a group of men who work the docks over by the games, do you see them?” Alice leaned in and asked, covering the motion by adjusting the collar of Robin’s borrowed shirt. Robin gave her the smallest nod. “Go over there and talk them up. Challenge them to games. See if you can get them to talk about their day today. I want to see what kind of cargo they loaded into which ships.” Robin nodded again, and her face lit up at the word ‘games’. It dropped again when Alice said, “Let them win. They’ll talk more freely.” 

“Awww,” Robin groaned. She pushed her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Alice stood up on her toes and kissed it away, sweeping her tongue along that tempting bottom lip. When she pulled back Robin had to blink hard – twice – to kickstart her brain. “Focus,” Alice said against her mouth before she pulled back entirely.

Determination settled over Robin’s face. Her eyes got sharper, almost like when she was sighting down an arrow at a target. She headed over to the young men with purposeful strides and Alice turned herself to the merchants.

Partway there, Ruby walked over and hooked their arms together.

“Hi,” she said cheerfully.

“Hi?” Alice responded, the word ticking up at the end like a question.

“Here,” Ruby stopped at a booth and placed a few coins on it before sweeping some tankards of ale into her arms. “Help me out?” 

Alice moved forward quickly to take three or four of them off Ruby’s hands for her. “Gotcha,” she said, grabbing one just before it tipped over. “Where are they going?”

Ruby nodded her chin towards the merchants Alice had been walking toward. “Gotta keep them happy,” she said. “Happy people stop by with their goods more often. Alcohol loosens tongues and inhibitions, you k now that.” She winked at Alice.

There was a brief moment – but just a moment – where Ruby looked at her sharply, knowingly, and Alice thought that she _knew_. That somehow Ruby knew that they were lying. Maybe not about what, but that they were lying about something.

That was ridiculous, though. If Ruby knew they were lying she would have raised an alarm by now. She certainly wouldn’t be involving Alice in things that would inadvertently help her.

The gentlemen greeted them with a cheer when she and Ruby walked over. One of them, a huge man with a mustache that took up nearly the entire bottom half of his face, leaned heavily towards Alice when she walked over. He tried to wink at her, but it wound up just looking like a face spasm.

“Well, isn’t this town just full of such helpful and lovely young ladies,” one of the younger men said. He was the one that Alice had been eyeing the closest. Unlike the rest of the merchants, who all had the look of men who had clawed their way into wealth with years and years on the open sea, this one gave Alice a slimy feeling. He was younger by at least ten or fifteen years, closer to Alice and Robin’s age, really, and he had a ring on every other finger. It was enough jewelry that they clinked loudly against each other when he wrapped his hands around the mug Ruby handed him. When _he_ tried to wink it was smooth and effortless, but the curl of his lips was just a little too haughty.

As they’d been rescued there had been a merchant ship docked that was made of fine, light wood and fresh-looking sails and banners. It had been crawling with sailors and dockhands loading cargo but not a captain in sight. Alice would bet everything she owned it was this man’s ship.

“Alice isn’t from here, actually,” Ruby offered. She leaned in to say excitedly, “Her ship was attacked by pirates!”

“Ah, you’re one of those girls,” the larger man said. His cheeks were already very red with drink even as he took another swig of beer. “Fisherman grabbed you off your boat, yeah? Weren’t there two of you?”

Alice nodded and smiled – made sure it was small and shy, since this man looked like he thought of her as someone to protect. Best to cultivate that line of thought. “Yes, m’lord,” she said, and suppressed a giggle when he puffed himself up at the title, “My friend is enjoying herself at the games.” She pointed to where one of the young dockhands had just sunk a bag into one of the holes and Robin clapped, excited and girly in a way that made Alice have to take a sip of her cider in order keep from laughing.

“Good,” the larger gentleman puffed. “Be good for you to relax. You know who attacked you?”

Alice shook her head and looked at the ground. She wrapped an arm around herself. “No,” she said. “I didn’t think you could tell pirates apart.”

“Some of them are more notorious,” the younger man interjected. He lifted his chin a little as he looked at her even as he hooked an arm around Ruby’s waist. Ruby frowned slightly but didn’t move away from him. “You’ve got your regular good-for-nothings, those get caught easily by the navy. The only time you get attacked by one of those is if you’re a captain not worth your coin. Then you’ve got your big names. Blackbeard, Nemo, Ahab, Hook. Although I’ve heard Hook has gotten soft in recent years.”

Alice had to fight with herself not to bristle at the words. She didn’t like his attitude either with her or with Ruby. She didn’t like the nonchalant disregard he had for other captains, or the possessive way his fingers dug into Ruby’s hip, or the derisive snarl when he said her father’s name. She kept her eyes firmly on the dirt beneath her feet, so no one would see the wave of anger that swept through her.

She knew who they were attacking next.

Ruby gently pried the young man’s hand off her and walked over to put an arm around Alice. “I’m sure that’s too much information for her,” she said, rubbing Alice’s shoulder in a comforting way. “We just wanted to make sure you men were still having a good time. Now if you’ll excuse us…”

“What other fun could you possibly have here?” the younger man sneered. “Why don’t you just stay with us, I promise it’ll be more enjoyable. Or maybe just you, girlie.”

“Her name is Ruby,” Alice snapped, her anger from earlier already putting her at a tipping point that the young captain dismissively calling Ruby ‘girlie’ pushed her right over. “And I’m sure there’s plenty to do here. Gentlemen,” she nodded serenely to the other men, gave the young captain one last glare, and walked off with Ruby’s arm still around her shoulders.

Ruby squeezed her shoulder a little harder. “One thing Granny’s taught me ever since I was young,” she said conversationally. “Never let your anger take over your brain.”

“Sorry, Ruby,” Alice said. She shrugged the shoulder Ruby wasn’t currently leaning against. “I can’t stand guys like him.”

“Me either,” Ruby sighed. “And there’s too many that blow through here. I never want to wish ill will on anybody, but there are some ships you just kind of hope get attacked by pirates, you know?”

There it was again. That subtle sideways glance. The way she said things sometimes, the inflection she put on certain words.

Ruby couldn’t possibly know. She’d have to know they were lying, first of all, and Alice had been keeping a close eye on both herself and Robin. Neither one of them had slipped up in any way, and no one had acted suspiciously outside of Ruby. Unless she had some sort of magical ability to…

Carefully, slowly, like approaching an animal you weren’t trying to spook, Alice let her magic branch out. It fizzled along her arm and brushed very gently against Ruby, just prodding at the edges of her personal space.

Ruby yelped, and Alice’s eyes widened. She relaxed a moment later when Ruby let go of her to cradle the ball of her foot where her toes had kicked against a rock.

“You okay over there?” Alice asked, the tension running out of her muscles.

Ruby didn’t know anything. Ruby was harmless.

“Fine. Should maybe watch where I’m going, but I’m fine,” she smirked at Alice. “We’re going to start the fire jumping soon,” she said. “Why don’t you go find your girl?”

Alice blushed and started to splutter, which set Ruby off into a round of giggles. “We’re not going to --” she tried to argue, only to be drowned out by Ruby’s laughter getting louder. “Oh, shut up.” She was prevented from hitting Ruby upside the head when their little redheaded escort from earlier showed up again.

He was covered in more dirt than before, if that was possible, and he had soot on his cheeks where he’d obviously stood too close to a firecracker. He had to reach up on his tiptoes to tap on her shoulder to get her attention, and he was really only tall enough to reach her bicep.

“Miss Alice,” he said, the “s” sounds whistling between his missing front tooth, “will you be my girlfriend and jump the fires with me?”

Alice smiled gently at him. “Sorry, buddy,” she said. She ruffled the unruly mop of curls at the top of his head. “I can’t be your girlfriend.”

“Why not?” he asked with a pout.

“You’re too young,” Ruby said between giggles.

The little boy stamped his foot so hard dirt puffed up. “I am not!” he said, just shy of shrieking the words. Alice could see a tantrum building in the redness of his cheeks.

“I can’t be your girlfriend because I’m Robin’s,” she blurted out. He blinked curiously up at her. “And it would make her very sad if I said that I was yours.”

The tantrum died immediately. “Oh,” he said. “Wells, why didn’t you _say_ that.” He turned on his heels and darted over to where Robin was standing and drinking with the dockhands. She smiled down at him when he approached her and then shouted when he reeled back his foot and kicked her in the shin. Alice covered her face when Ruby burst into the loudest laughter yet.

“Oh no,” Ruby said, wiping away the tears that had started to stream down her cheeks. “You two are fun to have around.”

Robin and the little boy had a little chat that ended with her patting him on the shoulder and handing him some coins, and then she started to walk over to Ruby and Alice. She had that crooked smile on her face that Alice wanted to kiss off every time it appeared.

“I just had the most interesting conversation,” she said when she was close enough.

“Yeah, I could see that,” Alice said.

“He said the funniest thing,” Robin’s smile went softer, her eyes warmer, as she said, “he yelled at me for being selfish and not sharing my girlfriend.”

Alice’s heart started to race. She took a drink of her nearly empty cider to cover the way her face and neck were going bright red. “Mhmm?” she hummed. “Interesting.”

She barely heard Ruby excusing herself to go ‘talk some manners into him’ because the way that Robin was looking at her made it impossible to focus on anything else.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Alice said. “I didn’t realize he was going to walk over and kick you.”

“It’s okay,” Robin assured her. “I told him I liked my girlfriend too much to share her with anyone. He seemed to understand.”  

Alice nearly dropped her mug. She set it gently next to some other empty cups on a booth nearby and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “Robin…”

Robin’s crooked smile grew until her dimples popped and her eyes crinkled at the edges. “Now, since I just got physically attacked, I think I deserve a dance, don’t you?”

“I suppose,” Alice said with a dramatic eye-roll, as if it was a great hardship. She tucked her hand into Robin’s and let herself be led across the square to where the musicians were playing. It was fast and lively. They didn’t know the steps, but it didn’t seem to matter too much to anyone else. Robin laughed and spun her in circles until she was dizzy. She stumbled, and Robin grabbed her up and lifted her, twirling them both around once more for good measure.

As the song came to a close the musicians switched to something slower and sweeter. It was soft, obviously meant to entice the couples onto the dance floor while the smaller bonfires were built up for them to jump over. It was working.

“Your competition wanted me to be his girlfriend so we could jump over the bonfires together,” Alice told her, breathless both from dancing and from the way that Robin pulled her in and started to sway. Alice curled her arms around her, one around her shoulder and the other around the back of her neck. She sighed happily when Robin gently bumped their foreheads together.

“Oh, yeah?” Robin asked. “Should I go get another kick in the shins?”

“I’m just letting you know. Keeping your eyes on the prize and all that.”

Robin’s lips curled into a sly smile. “Are you the prize in this scenario?”

“Obviously.”

Robin laughed, and she was close enough Alice’s body shook with the motion. “You know, that’s not the only interesting conversation I had today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the dockhands didn’t know much, mostly that one of the richer merchant ships in port is helmed by an enormous douchebag – ”

“We’ve met,” Alice interrupted with a drawl.

“But they were asking me about the attack. If anyone asks, by the way, we got away by hiding in the lifeboat.”

“Got it.”

“Well they were asking what it felt like, to be attacked by pirates.”

Alice tightened her grip on the back of Robin’s neck. “What’d you say?” she asked softly.

“I told them it was terrifying,” Robin said. She sighed and pulled Alice closer with a tug on her hips. “That pirates make you feel things that terrify you.”

To mark that the bonfires were high enough for couples to jump over them, someone threw a handful of firecrackers into one. Robin sighed again halfway to leaning down to kiss her. “This is why I don’t miss home,” she muttered, before leaning down the rest of the way to brush a quick kiss against her lips.

Ruby was standing at the edge of the impromptu dance area grinning at them when they broke apart and followed the crowd. “Here,” she said, draping flower necklaces over their necks.

“How do we do this?” Alice asked. She eyed the flames dubiously. They didn’t look high enough to cause any real damage or injury, but she wasn’t looking forward to what would happen if someone’s clothes caught as they were jumping. Zelena had just taught her how to create and suppress flames but they weren’t in a situation where she would want to reveal she could do that. Healing she could get away with, if she were discrete enough, but flames just disappearing…

“You hold hands and jump,” Ruby said sardonically.

“No sentence that has ever started with that has ever ended well,” Alice quipped.

Robin laughed. “It’s fine, really,” she said. “You’re jumping so quick the flames don’t have time to touch you. Just trust me?”

“Have you done this with someone else before?” Alice asked. She couldn’t keep the slightly jealous undercurrent out of her voice and she hoped Robin didn’t hear it.

“No,” Robin smiled at her. “Never had someone I wanted to jump with before.

Alice melted. She lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You and your hick traditions,” she said affectionately.

Robin looked so genuinely offended that she laughed.

“I don’t have hick traditions,” Robin protested. “Ruby, do I have hick traditions?”

“This is a hick tradition and you know it, so yes?”

Alice giggled when Robin looked even more offended, if that were possible. “If I didn’t like you so much I’d walk away right now.”

“But you do like me,” Alice said between giggles. Robin gave her a warm look. “So you’re gonna do this weird hick tradition with me.”

Two young men holding hands took a running start and leapt over the bonfire. It licked at their feet and ankles but didn’t seem to do any damage and they kissed on the other side. Ruby grinned and nudged them forward.

“Ready?” Robin asked, squeezing her hand.

Alice squeezed back, and they ran. They jumped slightly out of sync with each other but landed warm and unscathed on the other side, Robin hitting the ground just seconds before her. Robin ducked her head to kiss her and Alice anchored her there with the hand that wasn’t laced together with hers until Robin grinned into the kiss and pulled away.

Ruby ran and jumped over the flames on her own to laughter from the crowd. She smirked at Robin and Alice when she landed on the other side. “I love myself enough to jump across the fire with myself,” she said with a wink. “Also, I wanted to tell you that guy from earlier wanted to talk to you guys.”

“And you couldn’t walk around the fire to tell us that?” Alice asked. She frowned when the image of the smarmy young captain popped into her head. “And who? I don’t want to talk to that jerk captain again.”

“No, not him,” Ruby shook his head. “Older guy. Looks like he ate one of the barrels from his ship?”

Alice smirked. The description wasn’t entirely wrong. “Oh, him. Okay. Do you know about what?”

“Something about the navy,” Ruby said with a shrug. “I’ll be honest with you I wasn’t really listening.”

“Thanks, Rube,” Robin said with an eyeroll. Ruby stuck her tongue out at her and went back over towards the cider booth.

It was easy enough to find the large captain. He was in relatively the same place as before, arguably more drunk than last time, holding court sitting on a large stack of crates. He huffed and puffed and lifted himself off the crates when he saw Alice and Robin coming towards him.

“Girls!” he said. He leaned towards them and Alice had to hold her breath against the reek of beer. “Hullo!”

“Sir,” Robin nodded at him. “Ruby said you wanted us for something?”

“Yes, yes,” he waddled over away from the group of men and motioned for them to follow. “I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow. Do you have safe passage to report your attack to the navy?”

“No, sir,” Alice said. “Why?”

“I wanted to bring you on my ship!” His chest puffed out again, exactly like a rooster about to crow. “I used to be in the navy,” he said proudly. He thumped his fist against his own chest and then immediately coughed. “Back when I was young,” he added a little sheepishly. “In fact, got many mates still running things. I’ll get you to someone who can take care of that pirate scum for you.”

Robin’s hand tightened in hers on the word scum. Alice leaned subtly back into her.

“That’s very kind,” Alice said. She reached out and patted his shoulder gently. “Thank you so much.”

“And between you and me,” he said, swaying slightly, “you won’t have to worry about any pirates too much longer.”

Alice exchanged an amused glance with Robin. “Is that so?” she asked.

“Sure is. You see, they have an island,” he leaned in closer like he was telling a secret. Alice leaned back a little. “No one’s ever been able to find it. If we did, we’d rout them like rats,” he made a cutting motion with his hand and nearly toppled over.

“Pirates have a whole island?” Robin prompted. She raised her eyebrows at Alice, who shook her head back. The navy had known about Wonderland for almost as long as it had existed. The island wasn’t a secret, getting to the island was the impossible part. She wasn’t worried that this drunken former navy sailor knew about it.

“Well, they know where it is now, don’t they?” the man said breezily.

“Do they?” Alice asked. She smiled indulgently at him. She couldn’t count the number of times the navy thought they’d found the right island and showed up in force to find only sand and seashells.

“They rescued a captain,” he pointed a large finger at them. “Whale. Ruddy rat of a human being. Bad sailor and a bad merchant. Said he’d been left for dead by pirates.”

Alice felt Robin stiffen next to her. She couldn’t do much to comfort her since her own heartbeat had spiked at the mention of Captain Whale. She knew her father hadn’t even found him during the boarding of the Gilded Whale. They’d assumed he’d died during the battle or had jumped ship with some of his men during the fighting.

“He had a map,” the man continued gleefully. “He had a map to the pirate island.”

“I thought you said no one knows where it is. How could you know that the navy knows now?”

“My mate,” the captain puffed himself up again. “He still tells me all sorts of things. Sent me a letter and let me know. Said they’re going to attack soon. Even sent me a map. Told me to get there in the next fortnight and I can pick over the bones of the island.”

“That seems pretty farfetched,” Alice said, with just enough doubt in her voice that the man would feel like he needed to prove himself. She tightened her nearly painful hold on Robin’s hand to hide the way she was shaking a little.

“’S’not farfetched,” the captain said with almost a pout. He started to rummage around in the pockets of his pants, and then when he came up empty in the bag on his hip. Finally, he made a triumphant noise and pulled a handful of papers out of his bag. “See?” he said, shoving the papers at them.

Alice looked them over carefully. Most were just notices and letters, but towards the bottom was a letter and a small map of the nearby area. The letter mentioned, as she glanced over it as quickly as possible, an attack before the next new moon. The map underneath was a smaller version of the one on her father’s desk. There was a small island hand-drawn in the bottom corner and circled.

She hoped the sounds of the celebrations hid the distressed noise she made. She handed the map back to him with shaky fingers and palmed the letter, slipping it subtly to Robin. “Wow,” she said. “That sounds very impressive.”

“Thank you for the offer, sir,” Robin said. “What time are you setting sail tomorrow morning?”

The man scoffed. “Not morning, that’s for sure,” he said. He grabbed another tankard of ale off a table and took a giant swig, seemingly not caring if it was one someone else had left behind. “I’ll send a deck hand to fetch you before we go.” He waved his hand at them. “Go enjoy yourselves.”

“Yes, sir,” Robin backed away and tugged Alice with her, sensing that Alice was frozen in place. She pulled her past the crowds towards the edge of the square, where it was darker and quieter. “Tell me that wasn’t where Wonderland is,” Robin said tightly.

Alice didn’t respond until Robin tugged sharply on their joined hands. “It is,” she gasped out. “It’s exactly where it is. But how could Whale possibly know that?”

“We have to go,” Robin said. “Right now.”

Alice nodded. “Forget the mission, we’re going back to the Roger.” She looked over her shoulder at the crowd but couldn’t spot Ruby amongst all the people. She frowned, and a pang of sadness hit her. She’d wanted to say goodbye to their new friend.

They didn’t even stop back at Granny’s inn. There was nothing there but their old clothes. They were a lost cause anyway. Alice wished they could take horses, since it would be nearly two hours on foot to the meeting point with the Roger, but this town was not prosperous enough for her to justify stealing a source of income like that. They took off at a brisk walk, keeping mostly off the main road to not draw attention from any late-night travelers. Alice wanted to run. Everything in her body was screaming at her to run, but getting to the Roger exhausted and useless would not help them.

Robin was leading. She had excellent night-sight and a keen sense of the lay of the land. Alice reckoned that give Robin a day in any area and she could probably traverse it better than a local.

They were skirting the nearby woods when Robin stopped them suddenly.

“What?” Alice whispered.

Robin bent down and picked up a branch, holding it like a club in her hands. “A noise,” Robin said below her breath.

“An animal?” Alice asked.

Robin shook her head. There was another rustle of leaves and a twig snap, this time loud enough for Alice to hear it too, and Robin spun and swung out with the makeshift club.

Ruby ducked.

“Really, Robin?” she asked as the branch crashed into the tree where her head had been a second ago.

“Ruby,” Alice gasped. She put a hand against her chest to try and calm the way her heart was racing. “What are you doing here?”

“I followed you,” Ruby said.

“Why?” Robin growled, still in a defensive stance. That’s when the situation caught up with Alice. Ruby hadn’t followed them for a few moments and asked why they were leaving. She’d tracked them for a half hour and snuck up on them in the woods. Alice clenched her fists and settled her feet into a fighting stance.

“Will the both of you relax?” Ruby asked, eyeing the way they both stood ready to fight. “I want to come with you.”

“You don’t know who we are,” Alice snapped.

“I know you were lying about being attacked by pirates,” Ruby countered. “And then angry when they were insulted. And now you’re running scared when you hear they’re being attacked. I’m a smart girl, Alice.”

“You heard all that?” Robin asked. The makeshift club drooped slightly as her grip on it loosened. “How?”

“I’m a werewolf,” Ruby said. “I’ve heard everything from the moment you got here. I could smell the lies on you. And I’m not going to rat you out, but I can’t stay in this town anymore. I want to come with you.”

“What will you do if we say no?” Alice asked.

Ruby’s shoulders dropped. “I still won’t rat you out,” she said. “I’m not here to threaten you. I’m asking. Please, take me with you.”

Alice stepped forward, directly into Ruby’s space, and Ruby’s head snapped up. Alice searched her face for a moment for any sign of deceit or ill will. She was just Ruby. The same Ruby who’d been helping them all day – on purpose, Alice could see now. She seemed to know what Alice was looking for. Her eyes glowed yellow and she flashed her fangs for just a moment. Robin gasped behind her.

“What do you do on the full moon?” Alice asked.

“Get very grumpy,” Ruby said. “I’ve got a cloak that means I don’t do much else.”

“And you want to be a pirate?” Alice said. “Really be a pirate. Not the glamorous storybook kind, but the hours at sea, and dangerous sea battles, the weeks not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from. You want that?”

“I don’t want to be here,” Ruby said, voice low and desperate. “I’ve been here for so long and it’s never been right. I can pull my weight on the ship and I’m damn useful.”

Alice stared at her for a long moment, debating with herself. Having a werewolf on deck _would_ be useful, especially if Ruby could do all the things she’d claimed she’d done to suss out their deception.

“Ok,” Alice reached out her hand. “Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger.”

Ruby grinned, a wolfish smile that made perfect sense now. “Where’s it located?” she asked.

“A cove a couple miles up the coast, sheltered on one side by a cliff,” Robin said. It seemed she trusted Alice’s judgement on this.

Ruby nodded. “I know the place. Now step back.”

“Why?” Alice asked.

Ruby’s eyes flashed yellow again. “Because I have a way of travel much quicker than walking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me adding ruby into last chapter: i love ruby let's throw her in for a cameo  
> me writing ruby this chapter: but what if we kept her tho
> 
> SO I HEARD YOU GUYS WANTED MORE BATTLE SCENES RIGHT


	15. Battle of Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew of the Jolly Roger launches itself into the frenzy of battle to protect their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the brief hiatus last week. here's a nearly 7000 word chapter to make up for it. 
> 
> no formal betas we post mistakes like adults

It said something about the sheer strangeness of Robin’s life the past two months that having a friend who could turn into a wolf as tall as her shoulder was not the weirdest thing to happen to her lately.

Robin gripped tighter to the coarse fur under her hands and ducked her head. Riding on the back of wolf-Ruby was quicker, certainly, they covered more ground in a half hour than they would in a few hours of walking. It was still strange. It wasn’t anything like riding a horse, or a donkey, both of which Robin had ridden before (and one memorable time a buck – it had been stupid, he’d lived up to his name, and she still had a scar on her arm for the trouble). Alice gripped tighter around her torso as Ruby jumped a branch on the side of the road and landed on the other side hard enough to jostle them.

“Rube, you are not built as a beast of burden,” Robin gasp out.

Ruby’s ears flicked backwards and she huffed at her.

“Please don’t tease our friend when her teeth are the size of a small dagger,” Alice said. This time the huffing noise Ruby made sounded like laughter.

Robin hadn’t given much thought to how dangerous it would look to the men of the Jolly Roger that they were approaching on a wolf the size of a small horse until Ruby’s paws were kicking up sand on the way to the ship. Someone shouted and she could see the deck of the ship burst into life. Two of the men, standing at the base of the ramp leading up to the ship, turned and pulled their swords as Ruby skidded to a halt in front of them. Several more scrambled to pull pistols and bows.

Alice slid off first and stepped forward with her hands up. “Weapons down!” she ordered sharply.

The men who had been lining Ruby up in their sights all paused. One of the ones with his sword out started to lower it immediately.

“But – ” the one closest to them started to argue, fingers still white around the hilt of his sword as he stared at Ruby. “But Miss Alice. That wolf – ”

“Is a friend,” Alice interrupted firmly. “And not our biggest problem right now.”

Hook chose that moment to burst onto the scene. He stormed to the railings, weapons already drawn, and stuttered to a stop when he saw his daughter and standing protectively in front of a giant wolf.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?” he demanded. “Why do you have a wolf?”

Before either of them could answer, Ruby made a muffled sound in her chest and knelt closer to the ground. It hadn’t looked comfortable the first time Robin had seen the transformation and it didn’t look any more comfortable the other way around. Her bones began to snap and shrink in short, sharp motions. The coarse dark fur started to thin and fade, until only the wavy curls of her actual hair remained. A few of the men startled and lifted their weapons again. Robin put her body between the vulnerable Ruby and them. When the transformation was complete she stood up straight and lifted her chin.

“Werewolf,” Ruby corrected Hook, as if that was going to help the situation at all.

“Right,” Hook said, faintly sarcastic. He looked pale and confused. “A werewolf. Apologies, miss. Never learned to tell the difference.”  

“Forgiven,” Ruby said with a smirk.

Hook sheathed his sword, put his pistol back into the holster on his hip, and walked entirely down onto the beach towards them. “Could someone tell me,” he said slowly, “why I asked you to go pick out a target and meet back here in the morning, and you come running in the middle of the night with a werewolf in tow?”

The fist that had been clenched in Robin’s stomach ever since they’d learned about the attack on Wonderland tightened. “Technically the werewolf had us in tow,” she said. Hook gave her a glare that she shrugged off.

“Papa.”

Hook’s eyes darted immediately to Alice, taking in her paleness even in the moonlight, the way her hand was shaking slightly when she put it on his arm. “We’ll talk about Ruby later, right now we need to leave. This instant.”

“Starfish, I love you,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere until I get an explanation.”

“Hook – ” Robin started.

“They’re attacking Wonderland!” Alice snapped.

All movement seemed to cease. Hook frowned at his daughter and put his hand over hers. Even the waves sounded quieter.

One of the men nearby started to laugh. “No one’s attacking Wonderland,” he said, looking around at the rest of the crew. They looked amused but uneasy – like the thought was both absurd and terrifying at once. “No one’s ever attacked Wonderland.”

“Alice,” Hook lowered his voice “What makes you think someone is going to attack Wonderland?”

“We don’t think it,” Robin spoke up. “We know. One of the ship captains was old navy and he had a map. Hook – it showed Wonderland. Exactly where it is.”

Hook frowned thunderously. “That’s impossible. Wonderland is protected by powerful magic. It can’t be found.”

“Except by more powerful magic.”

Robin’s heart leapt. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about her mother – their fight was too fresh in her mind, the way they left each other still sitting like ice between them. She was glad to see her, though. Glad enough that she didn’t mind the narrowed look her mother was giving her for standing so close to Alice.

Zelena stopped halfway down the gangplank to lift an eyebrow at Ruby. “What are you?”

“I’m Rub-” Ruby started, and then realized the question. “Oh, you said what? I’m a werewolf. What are _you_? Never mind,” she scrunched up her nose. “Don’t answer that. I can smell the magic.”

“You can smell magic?” Alice asked. She and Robin both looked at her, startled.

Ruby shrugged at them. “I can smell a lot,” she said. “Magic smells different on everyone, but it’s always sharp and prickly when you breathe it in.” She poked Alice gently in the back. “Way to zap me before, by the way.”

Even through the stress and fear and nerves, Robin couldn’t help but find the way that Alice blushed to the tips of her ears adorable. “You zapped Ruby with magic?” she teased gently, just to see how deeply red she could make her girlfriend go.

Sure enough, Alice ducked her head a little as her blush deepened. “Not on purpose,” she murmured. She tilted her head curiously at Ruby. “What does it smell like?”

“Hers?” Ruby asked, pointing at Zelena. “Like a campfire. Yours is kind of like…” she paused to think. “Like the world just after it rains.”

“Fascinating,” Hook said drily. “Can we get back to the topic at hand? You claimed someone had found Wonderland.”

“I’m not claiming anything.” Alice reached into the pocket of her borrowed skirt and shoved the map she had stolen into her father’s hands. Hook looked down at it a moment, at first just glancing, but then taking a longer, deeper look when he realized what it was. He looked sharply at them when he was done.

“You’re being serious,” he said. “Someone…they actually know where it is.”

“It was Whale,” Robin growled. “Whale knows somehow. And he told the Navy.”

“Victor Whale was a lot of things,” her mother said. “Magical was not one of them. Neither is alive, anymore.”

“He’s alive.” Robin hated the words even as they came out of her mouth. She’d never disliked someone as strongly as she disliked Whale. She’d promised him she would kill him, and she hated him enough at this moment to follow through on the threat.

“We never found him during the battle,” Hook said. “It’s not impossible that he’s alive. What is impossible is that he knows where Wonderland is. That man is a snake, but he’s not a pirate. None of us would let him near that island.”

“It’s not important how they know!” Alice shouted. Everyone turned to look at her. “They do. And we have to get there to help.”

“It’s not too far away,” Hook said, frowning down at the map in front of him. “Would have been farther if we hadn’t backtracked. It’s still – “ he shook the paper helplessly, “ - it’s still too far without a strong wind.” He gestured to the calm seas around them.

The sound of her mother clapping her hands together smartly startled them. She lifted her head with a determined glint in her eyes that Robin knew was usually followed by her giving orders to people. She wasn’t wrong. Zelena turned and started to stride back up the gangplank.

“Alice, with me,” she said.

Alice turned to look at her and Robin shrugged helplessly. She squeezed Robin’s hand briefly, patted her father on the shoulder, and walked after Zelena at nearly a jog. “What are we doing?” Robin faintly heard her ask.

“We’re giving the Roger a strong wind,” her mother replied.

Hook widened his eyes as he looked at Robin. “Can she do that?” he asked. “If she can do that I might never let either of you leave.”

Robin sighed. “I don’t know,” she said. “We don’t really talk about what mom can do with magic.”

“That’s your mother?” Ruby asked. She sniffed. “You get all the good genes, then?”

“Hey!” Robin glared at her so fiercely that Ruby blinked at her.

“Sorry,” Ruby held up her hands in a placating motion. “Only you can insult her. Got it. So where do I bunk?” she asked Hook.

Hook looked blankly at her. “Sorry?” he said.

“Where am I sleeping?” Ruby asked. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “Alice invited me aboard.”

Hook sighed and scrubbed his hand through his short hair, tugging a little at the ends. “Just when I thought my life couldn’t possibly become stranger,” he muttered.

Robin had never agreed more with someone in her life.

 

* * *

 

Wind, it turned out, was absolutely something her mother could do with magic.

With Alice and her mother propelling air into the sails the Jolly Roger practically flew along the tops of the waves towards Wonderland. Ruby had set up shop in the corner of galley, claiming with fur all she needed was a decent place to curl up. Hook didn’t seem inclined to argue with his daughter’s decision to bring Ruby onto the Jolly Roger, at least not now.

For the next two days, Robin only saw Alice when she took breaks to sleep and eat. While the men prepared for a fight, and Ruby sat patiently being pestered with questions from Archie about werewolf physiology, Hook brought Robin into his office and they pored intently over his maps of Wonderland. With mere hours left before they reached the island Hook had brought her in to help plan their attack.

“The Roger can’t stand too long in an all-out fight against a Navy ship,” Hook said. He bit on his thumbnail as his eyes darted all over the map in front of them. It was a street-level map of Wonderland, one of the few that Hook told her existed. “We wouldn’t be able to do it at full strength and we certainly can’t right now. The pirate ships in the harbor will immediately move to blockade the island. Joining them would be suicide.”

“Do you think the navy ships will break the blockade?” Robin asked. She sat perched at an angle on his desk chair, too amped up to sit properly.

“Yes,” Hook answered quickly, voice strained. “We’re not prepared for an attack of this size.”

“So we take the fight to the land.” Robin stood up to move closer to the map. “Is there anywhere on the island to dock besides the harbor?”

Hook tapped a y-shaped cove on the right side of the map. “Here,” he said. “Only other place where the rocks won’t destroy any ship trying to land. It leads to a cave system.”

“Like an escape tunnel. If we brought the Roger around the blockade instead,” Robin trailed her finger across the hand-drawn waves of the sea around the island, “we could anchor the Roger in the harbor and bring the smaller lifeboats onto the shore with the men inside.”

“Put up a mounted attacked against anyone who managed to put boots on the island,” Hook nodded and looked at her almost proudly. “Good idea, little bird.”

“Not just an attack,” Robin shook her head. “If it comes down to it the Roger will be hidden by the cove, so they won’t see her escaping. We can use it to beat a retreat with as many islanders as we can.”

“It won’t be as many as we’d like,” Hook said.

Robin’s throat tightened. “I know.” She hadn’t known the residents of Wonderland for more than a day, but they’d seemed like decent people – for pirates – and Alice had known them her whole life. The thought of the pain Alice would feel if the attack succeeded, if they couldn’t get everyone off the island…it didn’t sit well with her.

Hook rummaged around in the trunk under his window and came up with a handful of hardened black leather. He handed it to Robin. It was armor. Arm and shoulder pieces, and a back and chest piece that buckled together around her ribs.

“Here,” he said gruffly. “Leather is light enough it shouldn’t interfere too much with the archery.”

Robin took the armor and held it against her chest, oddly touched. “Thanks, Killian,” she said.

He tapped his knuckles lightly on the top of her head in an affectionate gesture that filled her chest with warmth. “Go get ready,” he said. He cleared his throat and puffed up his chest like he could deny he’d ever felt a human emotion. “And Robin?”

Robin stopped just at the doorway to his office and looked back. Hook’s face was pulled into a frown – sad, determined, and grim all at once.

“Yeah?” she prompted when he didn’t speak for a moment.

“Alice will want to go help the evacuation,” he said. “I’ll have to stay near the men to coordinate attacks. Keep her safe?” he asked finally.

Robin swallowed thickly and nodded. “Of course,” she said, and let the promise mean more than just in the upcoming battle.

 

* * *

 

Alice eyed her up and down when she saw her on the top deck. Her eyes lingered on the way the armor buckled tightly across her torso. When she met Robin’s eyes she was grinning. “I like it,” she said, voice a little husky.

Robin smirked at her. “You have a thing for armor?”

“It’s a good look on you.” Alice flipped her hair over her shoulder and tried to look nonchalant. “You should keep it on. And then maybe take it off.”

Robin could see right through the flirty, flippant charade. She could see the tension in Alice’s shoulders, the way her mouth, when she wasn’t forcing a smile, turned down sharply at the corners. No one had missed the plumes of dark smoke that had come into sight an hour before.

They weren’t in time. Now they just had to hope they weren’t too late entirely.

Alice had armor on too. Heavier stuff than what Robin was wearing, and a bit more fitted to her. Robin’s was borrowed, Alice’s was made for her. Robin hooked her fingers into the sword belt on Alice’s waist and tugged her into easy kissing distance, uncaring whether anyone was nearby to see anymore. Alice sighed and leaned into the kiss for a moment before pulling away.

“I’m sorry this is happening,” Robin said. She didn’t step away too far, taking comfort in the way Alice’s hand lingered on her arm.

“It’s not your fault,” Alice said.

“Does that mean I can’t be sorry?”

Alice smiled at that. A real, if tiny, smile. Instead of the strained one she’d been forcing before. The island was in sight now and Alice’s hand clenched tightly on her forearm as they could see the battle starting to form in front of them.

Part of the dark smoke they’d seen approaching Wonderland was clouds of fire powder as it drifted into the air after a volley of canon fire. Robin winced as she saw a pirate ship shake under the assault of a navy frigate. One of the pirate ships got close enough to turn and ram into one of the smaller navy ships. The men of the Jolly Roger let out a cheer as it started to buckle and sink under the assault. Farther away, closer to the island, Robin felt her chest tighten as she saw a pirate ship also going down.

It wasn’t an even match. Some of the pirate ships were outnumbered two to one. Robin could see several Navy ships had already made land on the island and were spewing out soldiers like rats. The rest of the black smoke was from exactly what Robin had feared when she first saw it. Fire, on the island.

“They’re burning it,” Alice said, voice small. Her hand tightened to a near painful point around Robin’s arm. Her eyes were bright with angry tears as she looked at Wonderland.

Robin gently pried her arm away and grabbed Alice’s hand instead. She tugged her just inside the door to the stairs leading belowdecks, out of the way of the frenzied movement of the crew getting ready for battle. It was quieter for a moment, but only a little.

“We’re going to fight back,” Robin said fiercely. “We’re going to make them hurt.”

Alice lifted her chin up and blinked the tears away until she looked at Robin with clear eyes. “Hell yes we are,” she spat.

She looked tired, and Robin almost wanted to tell her to stay out of the battle. She knew how useless that would be. If Alice was the kind of girl who abandoned people she cared about, she wouldn’t be the girl that Robin –

Well, that could wait for later.

“Alice,” Robin squeezed her hand to make sure she had her full attention. “The plan I made with your father…we’re going to fight for as long as we can. We going to kick as much ass as possible. But if it all goes south,” she took a deep breath and pushed on as Alice looked like she was about to interrupt, “if it starts to go bad, we’re escaping with as many people as we can. When Ruby howls, that’s your father’s signal to retreat. I need to know that you’ll listen.”

Alice was quiet for a long moment. So long that Robin’s heart started to seize in her chest.

“Alice, _please_ ,” Robin said, voice breaking a little on the word. “Promise me if you hear the retreat you’ll listen.”

Alice shook her head and Robin’s heart stuttered to a stop. “Not without my friends,” Alice said quietly. “Not without Diamond.”

The relief that swept through her as she realized Alice’s wasn’t saying she’d ignore the call to retreat entirely was nearly debilitating. Her heart started back up at twice the speed. “I’ll get Diamond,” Robin promised. “You just get safe.”

Alice stroked the side of her face gently, tenderly, eyes dark and warm and holding too much emotion for Robin to look in them for too long. “You’re mad if you think I’m leaving you,” she said fiercely, ending the caress at her neckline and grabbing the top of her armor to pull her in close.

Robin stepped into the movement, walking Alice backward until her back hit the wall of the stairwell. She needed a moment to feel the warmth of Alice under her fingers, the solidness of her as she pressed her tightly to the wall, the feel of Alice’s hands tugging at the back of her neck. She nudged her nose against Alice’s, gently pushing them together, as they paused for a moment to breathe each other in. Their lips fell into place against each other, like they fit together, like they’d done this thousands of times before and would do it thousands more.

For a moment the growing sounds of battle faded, and all Robin could hear was her heart pounding in her head and the soft intake of breath as they kissed. Alice gasped, and the sounds started to grow louder, the crashing of the waves and the screams, the crack of guns getting closer than she’d like. Alice pressed in tighter then, pulled harder on the back of her head, and the kiss changed. Robin’s hands pawed at the metal and leather of Alice’s armor before settling on curling into her belt loops and pulling their hips together. Alice’s tongue licked into her mouth, desperate and needy, prompting a gasp from Robin that turned into a whimper as Alice nipped at her lip. A canon went off nearby – too close – and the world filtered in again. 

Robin could hear Smee bellowing for all hands on deck and knew their small sliver of time was up. They stayed together for a moment, Robin pressed smaller kisses against Alice’s lips as they slowed down. Chaste and lingering, just tiny brushes of lips on lips. She ached with the want to stay together for longer, felt a pang of wretched agony at the thought of having to step away.

 “Stay close to me?” Robin asked. She pushed their foreheads together, relishing in their last stolen moment of peace. “I don’t want to lose sight of you in the battle.”

_I don’t want to lose you at all_ , stayed tightly behind her teeth, swallowed down into her chest. She felt Alice nod against her.  

Alice grabbed her hand again and led her out of the stairwell. They didn’t get far before someone tugged on Robin’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug. Alice went with her because she didn’t want to let go of her hand. Robin stiffened for a second before she relaxed into the familiar feeling of her mother’s arms around her.

“I’m sorry we fought,” her mother said into the side of her head. Robin could see her reach out and pull Alice into the hug. “I’m not sorry about what I said, but I am sorry for the way I said it. Now both of you,” she punctuated the words by tightening her arms around them, “both of you, no doing anything stupid or reckless. You stay close to each other and you keep each other safe.” She let go of them and stepped back. “Alice, remember those tricks I taught you.”

Robin’s eyebrows shot up and she looked at Alice, who just nodded seriously. Zelena’s eyes hardened with determination.

“We’ll be careful, mom,” Robin said.

“Good. And remember that if either of you die I’ll come to the afterlife to kill you myself.” She pressed a quick kiss against Robin’s forehead, and another against Alice’s, and then she marched over to where Hook was waiting to put her where he needed her for the battle. Hook caught Robin’s eyes for a moment and nodded at her. Robin nodded back, and Alice’s hand tightened in hers. She knew that father and daughter had already had their moment, but she nudged Alice towards him anyway. Instead of moving away Alice stepped closer and clung tighter.

They moved where Smee sent them, to the aft of the ship, ready to depart with the second wave of men onto the beach. They’d circumvented the battle now, and the sounds that had been growing so loud were now getting dimmer as they made a wide curve towards the cove where they’d be making land. They took their weapons from one of the crew, nodding solemnly at him.

Robin nervously pulled at the fingerless gloves at her hands, then abandoned that to run her hand up and down her bow to check for imperfections. Alice’s hand on the side of her ribs stilled her.

“You have enough arrows?” she teased, eyeing the double-quiver of arrows Robin had slung across her back.

“I didn’t want to run out,” Robin defended herself.

Alice’s eyes lit up at that. “Which reminds me,” she said. “I wanted to propose something the next time we were in Wonderland. Don’t let me forget to tell you about it later.”

Robin heard the implication underneath the words – that there would be a later to have conversations in. “Something about me and arrows?” she asked.

“Sort of,” Alice replied. Her eyes glinted with mischief.

The lighthearted moment dissipated as the Roger finished pulling into the cove. There was a flash of green light as Zelena banished any nearby wind, stopping the ship from propelling itself forward. There was a small dock here. It was run down and shoddily maintained but it allowed them a place to depart. Some of the men forewent running down the ramp entirely, instead dropping off the side from ropes to get off the ship as quickly as they could. They took off at a run towards the caves that would lead to the main island.

Robin heard Hook shouting orders behind them, urging the men to fight as hard as they could and to direct any civilians back to the cove and the safety of the Roger. Ruby’s howl would be the signal, he reminded them, to grab anyone nearby and retreat as quickly as they could back to the ship.

Ruby herself leapt completely off the ship and landed on the breach paws first. The men seemed bolstered to have her on their side now that they’d gotten over the idea of a wolf nearly as tall as them. The cave systems were short but twisty, and Robin’s stomach dropped the closer they got to the cave entrance that led into the island proper.

Walking out of the cave was like walking into hell.

There was a body immediately in front of them. Thankfully, it wore the uniform of a navy sailor. Two pirates were fighting at least five enemies nearby. Robin didn’t hesitate to put in arrow in the back of one, and another in the eye of the man who turned to look at what attacked his friend. It gave one of the pirates the chance to slit his throat. With the tide turned in their favor with the appearance of the men of the Roger, Robin and Alice ran past them and deeper into the town.

The fires were spreading now. Robin could see men in the deep blue coats of the duke’s navy deliberately holding torches to houses. It enraged her. To fight in open battle was one thing. To smoke someone out of a house and cut them down as they tried to escape was cowardice. She let loose two arrows at the closest men doing it. They both dropped like flies, and with a sweep of her hand Alice cleared the fire they’d set at the corner of the building. Robin looked at her for a moment, impressed, and she just grinned back.

“New trick?” she asked.

“One of many!” Alice winked at her.

A man came roaring at them, sword hefted above his head, and Alice didn’t have to tell Robin to duck and roll out of the way, she did it instinctively, giving Alice an opening to run a sword through his gut. He fell to the ground with a dull thud and Robin popped up onto her feet to kick him in the face for good measure.

They moved further into town. The deeper they got the more the men from the Roger broke away from them to join the raging battle, until it was just the two of them together. Robin was better at a distance, picking men off when they were engaged in a fight with someone else, but she had to be careful not to hit allies. Alice would occasionally dart away from her, slashing at navy sailors, grabbing people and urging them back to the cove, telling them to find the Jolly Roger. Robin tried not to panic when she moved more than a few feet away.

Every time they passed a body in the street that wasn’t dressed in a blue coat, Robin saw her face drop.

Chaos reigned the closer they got to the docks and the busy area nearby. By some unspoken agreement they’d been moving quickly towards Beatrice’s tavern. They’d had to abandon trying to stop every fire they’d come across. There were too many and not enough of Alice’s magic to put them all out.

Robin saw movement out of the corner of her eye at the same time she heard the crack of a gunshot. Alice spun and made a sharp motion with her hand and Robin heard the _ping_ of the bullet hitting a steel bucket that flew up into the area. Robin spun and shot an arrow at his hand as he lined up another shot at them, then buried two in his chest. His friend nearby carrying a torch towards a line of buildings dropped it to run towards them. Robin brought up another arrow but dropped her arms when Alice stepped forward.

Alice glared, fury in every line of her body, and ran her hand along the flat part of her sword.  It was the same motion she’d used to dull their blades during her sword fighting lesson, except this time flames followed behind her palm as she swept it over the metal.

“You want fire?” Alice shouted at the man, whose eyes widened in fear as he tried to stop his forward momentum towards them. “Alright then!”

He couldn’t stop himself in time. Alice swept to the side as he bull-rushed past them and slashed across his back with her blade. Blood didn’t even have a chance to pour from the wound before his clothes burst into flames where her sword had touched the fabric. He fell screaming and Robin put an arrow in his eye.

Alice turned to look at her, wild and angry, and her eyes widened. She felt more than heard the blow the sailor behind her struck against her back. It wasn’t enough to pierce her borrowed armor, but she still fell forward with the force of it and rolled onto her back to dodge the next swing. Alice yelled and swiped her sword through the air. She wasn’t close enough to hit Robin’s attacker, but a crescent of light flew out of her sword and connected with his chest. He was blown backwards with the force of a cannonball and Robin rolled to her knees, breathless but steady, to jab one of her arrows into his neck.

Two of the ships closest to the dock, one navy and one pirate, both of whom had been slowly sinking, managed to make it to the dock at nearly the same time. They emptied themselves of men. Most were trying to get to dry land, while some were concentrating on killing as many of the other as they could reach. The wave of fighters pushed Robin and Alice apart for a moment.

Robin couldn’t react instantly. She held her bow down in one hand and drew her borrowed short sword in the other. Hook had insisted she have it, claiming at some point she wasn’t going to be able to keep herself at enough of a distance for her bow. She was glad for Alice’s sword fighting lessons now as she turned and slashed at the man closest to her. He was too distracted trying to fight someone else to be able to block the blow.

One of the nearby pirates stumbled and his gun went flying. Robin tossed her sword to him and jumped up onto the remains of one of the market stalls to shoot three – four – five arrows into the crowd. With each one a sailor in a navy coat dropped.

Eventually one of them noticed her. He lifted a heavy axe into his hands and stalked towards her. When she shot at him twice in quick succession he let one hit his shoulder and blocked the other with the head of his axe. Adrenaline shot through her as she realized she’d have to jump backwards and hope she didn’t lose her footing when she did.

She didn’t have a choice anymore when he lifted his arms up and swung his axe in a wide arc – not at her feet, but at the wood just below it. She yelped as it broke underneath her and she fell with it. She managed to get another shot off, this one into his leg, but it didn’t do more than cause him to roar in pain.

The roar was cut off as a sword cut into the side of his throat and thrust in. He seemed surprised for a moment before his body toppled. The flash of blonde hair told her who her savior was before she got a good look at Alice’s face. She reached out a hand, face set in a determination so fierce Robin wasn’t sure how any navy sailors could manage to make themselves fight her.

“Don’t move away like that again!” Alice scolded her. The words were barely out of her mouth before there was a sharp cry and Robin saw one of the men from the Jolly Roger, fighting a navy sailor nearby, fall with a hand to his side.

Robin immediately put an arrow into the shoulder of the navy sailor, and then another in his face as he turned with the force of the impact. Alice ran forward, hands already glowing as she put them against the bleeding wound. Robin made to run after her and stopped as another wave of fighters moved between them. She cursed and jumped backwards, then turned to look where they were heading.

The tavern was just at the edge of her vision, and a group of men were holding torches to it. The top part of the building was already engulfed in flames.

Unwilling to leave the occupants of the tavern to the fate of burning alive or running into the swords of their enemies, Robin took one last long look at Alice and turned and ran towards the building. The first man to notice her barely had time to open his mouth before he had an arrow in his throat. The second and third men had more reaction time. One got a shot off with his gun that blew wide, hitting a wooden post nearby with enough force to shower the side of Robin’s face with splinters. She felt one nick her neck. The other pulled his sword. Robin got two arrows into the gut of the man who shot at her and was lining up with the third when he suddenly keeled over.

Behind him Onyx stood with the first man’s dropped sword in a shaking hand. He stabbed twice into the dead body at his feet and spat. His face lit up when he saw her.

“Robin!” he shouted, and it ended with a cough. “They blocked the other doors. We were – ”

“It’s ok!” Robin grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away from the door. More people poured out behind him, some of them clutching wounds and all of them coughing. Robin didn’t see Diamond among them.  “Where’s Diamond?”

Topaz stumbled out into the street, shaking and clutching at a bleeding gash on her arm. “She’s still inside. There are people in the back rooms where the ceiling has fallen.”

Robin cursed and shoved at Onyx’s shoulder, pushing him out towards the street. “Go!” she ordered. “Get to the cove! The Roger is waiting there!”

Onyx nodded and grabbed his friend, pulling her along at a run. The rest of the group followed and Robin turned and lifted her shirt to cover her mouth. Pulling in a deep breath of fresh air, she plunged into the building.

The tavern was filling with smoke quickly. Even smashed windows and parts where the ceiling had started to cave in couldn’t let the smoke out quick enough. Robin coughed and moved further in.

“Kaia!” she shouted. Her only answer was the breaking of timber. “Where the fuck are you?” A sudden smoky figure appeared in the doorway and Robin almost lashed out until she recognized, under the soot and grime, the almond-shaped grey eyes looking at her. “Fuck you,” she spat, grabbing at Diamond’s arm and pulling her forward. “Alice will kill me if I let you die.”

“Hey green-eyes,” Kaia said breathlessly, voice muffled by the scarf she’d wrapped around her mouth. “Fancy seeing you here!” 

“A burning building is not the time!” They both stumbled as the doorway Robin had pulled her out of started to collapse in on itself. “Is everyone out?”

Diamond nodded, hand against her chest as she started coughing, and Robin could see the red of a burn along her leg. She took two hobbling steps forward and cried out. Robin grabbed her arm and pulled it over her shoulders, half-dragging her through the smoke towards the front door. As they got closer to the open door Robin heard the one sound she was hoping never came: the long, low single howl of a wolf.

“It’s the retreat!” Robin cursed under her breath and pulled Diamond faster. They burst out into the fresh air and Robin reach out, grabbing the nearest pirate by the back of his jacket. He was one of the men of the Roger. He swung around wildly and stopped when he saw who had grabbed him. “Take her!” she ordered, pushing Diamond in his arms. “Get back to the ship!”

He grabbed Diamond up, hauling her easily into a bridal carry, and took off at a run. Robin scanned the street. It was thinning out now that the retreat had been called. Any of the men of the Roger who heard the howl began to fall back. The navy sailors, confused with such a coordinated motion, seemed stuck between following and holding their ground.

She knew she should move away from the tavern and towards the ship. But she’d promised Hook to keep Alice safe, and she couldn’t fail that. There was no universe in which she would go back to the ship without knowing that Alice was following her. She could still feel the heat of the burning building licking at her back and she knew she had to get away soon, maybe make her way back towards where she’d last seen Alice. There was another howl in the distance, this one longer but fainter.

Robin felt the cool metal on her temple a split second before her ears registered the unmistakable sound of the gun cocking against her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANYWAY


	16. The Consequences of Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A stand-off on Wonderland pits Robin against a nemesis she could not have ever anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes yes cliffhanger was evil i'd apologize but i'm not sorry
> 
> catch the critical role reference and win a cookie

“Hello again,” an unfortunately familiar voice purred.

“Whale,” Robin spat the name out like poison. “I think you were named after the wrong animal. Cockroaches are the ones that are hard to kill.”

“Good to know things haven’t changed in the intervening months,” Victor Whale moved slightly to the side, probably so she could see the sneer she’d heard in his voice. “You were an arrogant little brat on my ship and you’re an arrogant little brat off it. Put your bow on the ground.”

“Calling me arrogant is rich, coming from you,” Robin snapped back. He pressed the gun a little harder against her temple and Robin tossed her bow to the side, trying to make the throw as gentle as possible.

“Good girl.”

Robin didn’t move her head for fear of the gun pressed against her temple, which gave her a clear view of the destruction just in front of Beatrice’s tavern. It also meant she saw Billy, crouched behind an overturned cart, clenching his jaw and slowing starting to pull his sword from his hip. Robin did the barest shake of her head, just the tiniest movement left and right. That far away he couldn’t hear what she did: the metal clank of boots coming down the side street. She widened her eyes at him and she saw his flicker to the soldiers marching into view. Without a second glance, he bolted.

“Leave him!” Whale ordered as one of the soldiers walking into the square started to go after him. “We’ve got more important business here.”

“You don’t give orders to my men, Whale,” a gruff voice growled. A man in significantly more elaborate armor than the rest walked into her eyeline. He was tall, with broad shoulders and dark hair. His eyes were light, somewhere between grey and blue, and they narrowed at the man holding her. He jerked his chin towards where Billy had disappeared. “After him.” Two of the soldiers promptly took off running.

Whale hissed out an impatient breath. “Useless,” he said. “We have everything we need right here.”

The man’s eyes glanced over Robin like she was less than the dirt underneath his boots. “A girl,” he scoffed. “I told you not to play with the pirates.”

“This girl isn’t a pirate,” Whale’s grip on her shoulder tightened painfully. “This is the daughter of the Wicked Witch.”

Suddenly, Robin was a lot more interesting to the commander. He looked her up and down, and every place his eyes touched crawled underneath his gaze. “Zelena has a daughter,” he grumbled out. “Didn’t peg her for the type.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Robin asked, squaring her jaw and lifting her chin just a little. She glared fiercely at the man.

“Ah, I can see the resemblance,” he said with a smirk. “In the bone structure and the contempt.” He tapped his fist against the snarling lion crest on his plate armor in a weird kind of salute and gave her a mocking bow. “Lord Commander Nottingham, leader of the Duke’s men. I’d say I was at your service, but I’d be lying.”

“You don’t seem like the type to shy away from lying to people,” Robin said. She bit down on a pained yelp when Whale dug his fingers into the soft flesh where her shoulder met her neck.

Nottingham’s mouth twisted, like he wasn’t sure whether he found her amusing or irritating. He stalked towards her. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you to keep a civil tongue in your mouth when speaking to your superiors?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you when I meet someone superior to me.”

Nottingham punched her in the ribs, directly in the thin spot where the front and back piece of her armor laced together. Robin shouted and doubled over as his gauntleted hand plowed into her torso. Whale started to laugh as he hauled her back upright and put his gun against her head again.

“Do you know how often I wanted to do that on my ship?” he asked.

Robin focused on taking in long, shallow breaths until the pain in her stomach receded. Even as her chest heaved she glared up at him underneath her lashes, mouth twisted into a scowl. “Try that again and see what happens,” she hissed at him.

Nottingham shook his head at her and turned away. “I like your spirit,” he said. “You remind me of your mother about twenty years ago.”

That made her pause in the act of plotting the many and varied ways she’d kill them both the minute she got her bow back in her hands. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“At the height of her power your mother could have had everything she ever wanted,” he made a hand motion at a few of his men, who started to establish a perimeter. “And then she disappeared.” He turned his head to the side like a dog, studying her for a moment. “How old are you?”

Robin stayed quiet out of spite until Whale shook her, rattling the barrel of his gun against her skull for emphasis. “Twenty-five,” she spat.

Nottingham burst into laughter. “She left to have you,” he said incredulously. He moved quickly towards her and brought his hand up. She almost flinched away but he just held a small chestnut brown colored gem close to her face from where it was hanging around his neck. It glowed with a very dim, faint gold light. Nottingham laughed harder. “A talentless, magicless child. What a waste.”

Robin opened her mouth to snap back at him and was interrupted by what sounded like the world imploding. Nottingham spun to look as there was a bright green flash of light and the bodies of two of his men went flying and crashing into the debris of the destroyed marketplace. Whale tightened his grip on Robin and backed them up, away from the commotion but closer to the burning tavern. As one of the navy soldiers turned, Hook burst out behind him and body slammed him into the ground and ran him through with his sword. One of the crew of the Jolly Roger ran onto the scene and fell as a navy soldier shot him in the chest.

“Everybody freeze!” Nottingham roared. He pulled his sword from his hip and took two steps backward to press the tip of it against Robin’s throat. With a gun to her head and a sword against her neck, Robin nearly quit breathing entirely.

Her mother stopped advancing the minute she realized who Nottingham had a sword to. Her eyes, clouded with rage and the rush Robin always saw take over when she gave into the power of her magic, started to clear. She lowered shaking hands. The green glow around her dissipated. Hook stopped moving towards them too, but he kept his sword up.

“Excellent,” Nottingham said. His voice suggested he’d told them to sit down for dinner instead of to stop trying to kill each other.

“You all right, little bird?” Hook asked, eyes never leaving Nottingham.

“Fine,” Robin gasped out.

When her mother spoke, it was with a voice so low and cold that Robin practically shivered listening to it. She’d never in her life heard her mother sound like that. “Nottingham,” she said. “If you hurt a single hair on my daughter, I will rip your bones out of your body.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt her _hair,_ ” Nottingham sneered. Her mother took a step forward and Nottingham tsk’d and pressed his sword just hard enough against Robin’s neck to draw a thin line of blood. Her mother stopped dead in her tracks. “Now let’s all be civilized here, shall we?”

“Civilized?” Hook barked out. “You attacked innocent people.”

Whale scoffed over her shoulder. “I’d hardly call an island full of pirates innocent. Or people.”

“Let’s all be civilized,” Nottingham stressed again. He took his sword away from Robin’s neck and held it loosely at his side. “See?”

“What do you want, Nottingham?” her mother snapped.

“I want your head on a spike,” he answered almost conversationally. “I’ll take your arrest instead.”

“Unlikely,” Hook answered.

“How about I phrase it this way,” Nottingham said. “Zelena gets on her knees and comes with us, I let the girl go, and you get a fighting chance at leaving. Or you try to kill me, you lose, I let Whale pull the trigger his finger has been just itching to squeeze, you all watch her die, and Zelena comes with us anyway.”

“Is there a third option?” Robin asked.

“Ok,” her mother said.

Hook’s head whipped around to stare at her and Robin made a desperate strangled noise in her throat. “Mom!”

“Ok.” She stepped forward and held out her hands, evenly spaced and empty. “Put the cuffs on.”

“Mom, don’t!” Robin started to wiggle against Whale and he punched her in the ribs, right where Nottingham had hit her before. It knocked the wind out of her.

“Amazing,” Nottingham said with a grin. “Absolutely amazing. ‘Caring only makes you weak’, isn’t that what you always said, Zelena? There was a time you would have spat in the face of anyone who tried to talk back to you. Now I threaten your whelp _once_ and you give yourself up.”

“People change,” her mother said. Her face was drawn and solemn, and her eyes filled with tears when she looked at Robin’s stricken face. “Please remember that people change,” she said, holding her eyes with an emotion Robin couldn’t put a name to, but looked very much like guilt.

“Zelena,” Hook said warningly. “We can still win this.”

“What would you do if he had a gun to Alice’s head?” her mother snapped back. “Let me do this. You take her back to Alice and you keep her there. Promise me?”

Hook’s jaw worked as he clenched it. He looked ready to protest. “I promise,” Hook said after a moment.

Nottingham jerked his sword at one of his men, who approached her mother like a gazelle would approach a lion, wide eyes and shaking limbs. She didn’t make a move as he firmly fastened the cuffs onto her wrists, but she did wince and cringe away from them as they touched her flesh. Robin watched the skin on her wrists get red and she started to wiggle harder.

“Keep moving and I won’t be responsible for what I do,” Whale whispered in her ear.

“Let me go, you slime bag of a human,” Robin hissed back at him. “I made you a promise and I intend to keep it.”

“Quite a spine your kid has on her,” Nottingham said. His face lit up in delight when her mother got down on her knees in the dirt and mud of the ruined marketplace. “Who’s her father? She certainly didn’t get that backbone from you.”

“Go fuck yourself,” her mother answered back.

Nottingham just laughed again. He held his hand out to one of his men and snapped his fingers when the man didn’t move quick enough to hand him a scroll out of his bag. Nottingham unfurled it and cleared his throat. “Fine, we’ll do it the official way, then,” he said. “Zelena Mills, known as the Wicked Witch, you are hereby under arrest for the crimes listed below.”

“Look at me, please,” her mother said, and Robin knew she wasn’t talking to Nottingham. Robin’s bottom lip quivered at the way her mother’s eyes held hers desperately. “What you’re about to hear, it’s true, but it’s not who I am anymore.”

Nottingham snorted. “By the order of his grace, Grand Duke John, you are hereby under arrest for the crimes of terrorism against the Duke and his people. The razing of the village of Weybrook. The razing of the village of Loth. The arson of the forest of Sherwood.” He paused to take a breath.

With each new crime listed, Robin’s eyes widened. Her mom…her mom wasn’t capable of all those things, was she? Her mom had a temper, sure. And she had a past. But everyone had a past. Her mom – her mom was her mom.

“As well as the torture, destruction, and murder rained down upon the Duke’s people in ways too numerous to recount here. For all this, for treason against the Duke, and for the use of the forbidden art of magic to do all of it, you are hereby sentenced to a long and painful death. You will be escorted by the soldiers of the duke’s navy to pay for your crimes.” Nottingham rolled the scroll back up with a snap.

“Mom?” Robin asked weakly. She was waiting for a protest. Waiting for her mother to speak up, to deny the list of crimes. It never came.

Tears were running freely down her mother’s face now. Robin had never wanted to run and hug her so desperately in her life. Even as a child she’d never craved to have her mother’s arms around her as much as she did in that moment.

“The best thing I ever did was have you as a daughter,” her mother said, voice thick with tears. “You changed me in ways I never knew I could change. Whatever happens now, having you as my daughter made me a better person.”

Robin choked on the sob working its way up her throat. “I love you, mom,” she croaked out.

Her mother sagged with relief when she said that. Nottingham put the scroll under his arm to free his hands to clap.

“Truly touching,” he said. “Really, I’m moved.”

“How bold of your duke,” her mother said to him, blinking rapidly to rid her eyes of tears. “To charge me for crimes he ordered me to commit.”

“You were one of us and you disappeared, Zelena,” Nottingham shrugged at her. “We had to assume you’d betrayed the Duke. You’re a loose end we can’t afford. No hard feelings, I hope.”

“You’ll never make it off this island with her,” Hook warned. “It’s still covered in pirates.”

“Less and less of them every minute,” Whale informed him happily. “Isn’t your daughter one of them? We can keep an eye out for her, if you’d like.”

Robin slammed her foot into his shin and he yelped. He moved his arm from gripping her shoulder to wrap his forearm across her throat. She felt the air start to constrict. “Try that again,” he warned. “And I won’t wait for him to give me the order to shoot you.”

Nottingham shook his head at them. The look he gave her mother, still on the ground, was condescending and smug. “You should have expected this, Zelena. You should have known I would have caught you eventually. I’m the greatest hunter who ever lived.”

“My father was the greatest hunter who ever lived,” Robin spat at him breathlessly. “You’re a lapdog who thinks he’s a bloodhound.”

“Your father –” Nottingham spun to look at her and froze. It was like he was seeing her for the first time. He studied her intently for a long moment. He looked into her eyes so deeply Robin felt like she couldn’t even blink. The anger that swept across his face, then, the absolute rage, sent a rush of fear and adrenaline through her. His eyes flashed like a wounded animal when he turned on her mother. “There is _no_ way,” he said.

Her mother didn’t say anything. She squared her jaw and lifted her chin to glare at him.

Nottingham roared and swept his sword into the dirt in front of her mother like a child throwing a tantrum. It kicked rocks up into her face. “You _must_ be _joking_.” 

“If these are the actions of the greatest hunter the Duke has at his disposal no wonder it took five years for you to find the rebel camp and its leader, and twenty-five to find me,” her mother sneered. Robin winced when Nottingham backhanded her across the face. Blood started to pour from the split lip his gauntlet caused.

“You were supposed to find Locksley and his rebels,” Nottingham spat at her. “You were supposed to gain their trust, figure out their troop movements, and eradicate their base. Exactly which part of that included fucking him and bearing his child?”

“An unexpected part!”

“I would imagine!” He slashed at the ground again, this time getting dangerously close to her mother’s face with his sword, before he turned around and stalked back towards Robin. He took her chin in his hands, gauntlet still dripping with her mother’s blood, and pulled her face forward. Whale didn’t let go of her neck and she started to choke slightly against the hold. “What’s your name, kid?” he growled at her.

Robin just glared at him. Her mind was still reeling. Her mother had done what? But her father...and she'd...she'd known she didn't love him but...

“What’s your name?!” he shouted. He lifted his sword above his head.

“Robin!” her mother shouted back. “Her name is Robin!”

He dropped his arm and stared at her, a crazy kind of fury burning in his eyes. Robin darted a look to his right, trying to figure out how close she was to her bow. If she could just get away from Whale she could get her hands on it. She still had her arrows across her back. Some of them were probably damaged from being pressed against Whale but a few were no doubt still good. She only needed a few. She wasn’t going to miss.

The fury cleared from Nottingham for just a moment and he followed her eyeline. His grip on her chin tightened. He dropped it suddenly enough to make Robin jolt back against Whale. He paced back to her mother.

“You know, after you disappeared, Locksley and his rebels got uppity. Figured they could attack the Duke now that you weren’t around raining fire on the countryside. I had the absolute joy of putting a sword through Locksley’s gut and watching him bleed out on the forest floor. Any time in the last two decades I needed to feel joy I thought back to the moment I wiped him and his whole line from existence. And now you show up trailing a brat with his bow and arrow and his eyes!” He turned to look at his men. “Fuck the deal. Take the witch and get her back to the ship. Kill Hook and his men. The girl comes with me.”

Her mother started to shout and pull against the soldiers that stepped forward to haul her to her feet by her arms. 

“Nottingham!” Hook shouted, lifting his sword. “Don’t you touch that girl!”

Nottingham ignored him. He put his face very close to Robin’s. “I watched the light leave your father’s eyes,” he told her calmly. “I can’t imagine I’ll enjoy it any less watching it leave yours.”

Robin head-butted him.

He reeled back, blood pouring from his nose into his mouth. When he straightened up he spat at her, so the red splattered across her chest. Whale winced away from the mess but tightened his hold on her. He wiped his forearm against his face and the blood smeared across his neck.

“Whale, step to the side and hold her steady, will you?” he asked. Whale did as he was told, keeping his gun firmly pressed against her temple but letting go of her neck to step back. Robin’s heart started to pound in her chest. Nottingham lifted his sword. “Have it your way, then.” He plunged the sword toward the gap near her ribs.

Hook yelled, a group of men from the Jolly Roger exploded forward out of the side street, her mother gave a hoarse cry, Robin cringed away from the blow – and someone screamed like their heart was being ripped out.  

The tip stopped just short of her body.

Nottingham stared in disbelief and pushed against the seemingly immovable sword. The metal began to curl into itself the more pressure he put into it. Behind her, Whale started shrieking loud enough to pierce her eardrums. High, uncontrollable wails of pain. He shoved her to the side and she fell onto the mud, embers and ash from the still-burning tavern raining down on top of her as she caught herself on her elbows.

His gun was shaking in his hand, the metal of the grip melting like iron in a forge and dripping like acid across his palm and down his wrist. He couldn’t seem to let go of the gun if he tried. The barrel began to peel itself open like a fruit, and the bullets fell out with little hisses as they landed on his skin. Robin scrambled backwards, towards the last place she’d seen her bow, reaching blindly with one arm because she couldn’t take her eyes off what was happening in front of her.

Alice was standing, highlighted on one side by the flames now nearly gutting the tavern, and the ground rumbled as she screamed. Her eyes looked like they were illuminated from within – a blinding pure white light that also seemed to be emanating from her hands. Nottingham’s sword was now vibrating and he dropped it, maybe fearing the same treatment as Whale’s gun. The crystal around his neck brightened to the point of pain, the gold of the light mixing with the flames, and then it exploded into tiny pieces that trickled down the front of his armor. He stared at her in disbelief. So did many of the men nearby, even some of the ones from the Roger.

Robin’s fingers brushed against a familiar curve of wood. She grabbed her bow and swung it around, hand reaching for an arrow at the same time. The first two she grabbed were too damaged to fly straight and she threw them to the side. The third was fine.

One dropped close to Whale and he noticed. Gripping his wrist, panting and wide-eyed with fear and anger, he snarled at her and turned to a nearby soldier. “Kill the pirate witch!” he started to order.

He only got to ‘wi’ before Robin’s arrow hit his throat.

“I told you I’d kill you,” she spat as his body dropped to the ground.

Whale’s demise seemed to spur the frozen soldiers into action. Most of them tried to engage with the pirates, who had already turned the element of surprise to their advantage. They were being thoroughly routed. Robin grabbed another good arrow and let it loose at Nottingham’s head. He turned at the last moment and it only nicked him in the ear, but it was enough for him to remember she was there. He turned and picked up his sword again, throwing it away when he realized it was now useless.

“The next arrow you shoot signs your death warrant,” he growled at her.

“The next one won’t miss,” she promised.

An ear-splitting canon round sounded across the bay. The fight seemed to pause for a moment as everyone turned to look as a new wave of ships crested the horizon towards Wonderland.

They were not flying the colors of the duke’s navy.

Nottingham cursed and looked between Robin and Zelena. She watched him decide quickly as he ran back towards her mom, who was currently strangling a navy soldier with the chain of her manacles. Robin scrambled to find another good arrow as she dashed forward. Nottingham swung at her mother’s head and an intense shockwave hit him. He flew backwards and landed with a loud crash on the outside of the marketplace. Robin watched Alice fling her arm again and another wave of soldiers were tossed backwards into the burning tavern.

One of the navy soldiers grabbed Nottingham and pulled him to his feet. Through the smoke and roar of battle Robin could barely make out him mouthing the word ‘retreat’.

The remaining navy soldier’s broke and ran, Nottingham bringing up the rear and spitting curses at them. The men of the Jolly Roger gave chase, but several soldiers turned and willingly held the line to protect the retreat of their commander. There was nothing stopping him from boarding the nearest ship and ordering it to raise the sails.

Robin turned her back on them and ran to Alice.

She didn’t react when Robin dropped her bow to grab her shoulders. The pupils of her eyes were still glowing with a white light that completely washed out any color. She was staring, transfixed, nearly hypnotized, by the sight of the tavern up in flames.

“Alice,” Robin cupped her face and tried to get her to turn her head, but she didn’t budge. Robin brushed her hair away from her face. “Alice, you have to stop.”

“Stop,” Alice repeated, voice flat. She lifted her hand up, palm open towards the sky, eyes still watching the flames lick up the walls of the building in front of them. “ _Stop_.” She closed her fist.

The flames disappeared.

It wasn’t like before, when she’d waved her hand and the fires had shrunk or receded until they could be easily stamped out. This time her fingers curled sharply into her palm and they were gone. One moment flames and the next nothing but lingering smoke and ash. She let Robin’s gentle hand turn her face this time, and Robin nearly cried with relief at the blue she saw looking back at her.

“Robin,” she said faintly. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped.

Only her quick reflexes saved Alice from a hard impact with the ground. She couldn’t catch her completely, but she wrapped her arms around her and followed her down, cradling the upper half of her body in her lap. Terror, sharper than anything she’d felt before, turned her veins to ice. Only the rise and fall of Alice breathing against her kept her thinking clearly.

“Alice!” Hook threw himself to his knees beside them. His hand went to Alice’s neck, checking for a pulse Robin already knew was there.

“She’s ok,” Robin assured him. She held tighter to Alice anyway. She didn’t like how pale she was.

“She’s exhausted,” her mother said. The word seemed to describe her too: practically swaying on her feet, arms dangling heavy with the cuffs on her wrists, her face white as a sheet and drawn. “It was too much power at once. We need to get her off the streets and somewhere safe.”

“Back to the Roger.” Hook climbed to his feet and put his arms underneath his daughter. It was with great reluctance Robin allowed him to pick her up.

“Can we make it that far?” Robin asked.

“We can now.” Her mom handed over her discarded bow with a weak, tired smile.

“She’s going to be ok, right?” Robin asked tightly, hand still resting on Alice’s chest.

Her mother nodded and leaned against her briefly, tired eyes concerned as they tracked the silhouette of the ship carrying the retreating Nottingham. It was moving quickly away from the incoming reinforcements and Robin knew he’d be gone long before they could attempt to catch him. Her mother straightened up and held out her hands as one of the pirates came over with a key he’d scavenged from the dead navy men. Robin heard her sigh with relief when the cuffs fell off her wrists.

Now she could lift softly glowing green hands to press against Alice’s chest, her hand also brushing Robin, who could not be paid to move at this point. It only took a few seconds for her to pull them away again. “Like I said, magical exhaustion. Most likely a long sleep and she’ll be right as rain.” 

“Most likely?” Hook asked sharply.

“She’ll be fine.” Her eyes narrowed at Robin, taking in the sluggishly bleeding cut along her neck, and she touched her fingertips to the slice. Robin felt the warm glow of magic as the cut healed itself and her mother nodded to herself when she took her hand away. "Better." 

Robin stepped closer to Alice, nearly crowding Hook as he turned a concerned gaze over the still chaotic streets. Even with the disappearance of Nottingham and the retreat being sounded on both sides it was still a war zone. Robin moved her hand, so it was resting over Alice’s heart. The steady thump against her palm eased the tightness in her chest. “You have to be,” she said. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss against her temple. “You rest, and you come back to me, Alice Jones,” she whispered, breathing against skin damp with sweat and smelling of fire. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOOOO 
> 
> OOOOOOO SHE SAID IIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT 
> 
> SHE SAID THE THING 
> 
> anyway bet you guys thought whale was going to be the secondary big-bad SIKE. *cartoon announcer voice* how did whale find out about wonderland? is nottingham going to be gunning for robin now? what's gothel's plan? will alice and robin finally FINALLY bang out their feelings? find out next time on APL


	17. From the Ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone picks up the pieces. Alice and Robin reconnect in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this took two weeks to post but is 12k, which i feel like makes up for it. we tagged off a lot on this chapter (the google doc is a sight to behold, mostly just us watching each other writing different bits and roasting each other whenever we make a mistake).
> 
> also MIND THE NEW RATING. it's long and it's detailed and YOU'RE WELCOME but if it's not your thing feel free to skip to the end although there ARE some emotional bits in there.

The first thing Alice noticed upon waking up was that she was still tired. It reminded her of when she’d had the flu and her body had ached for days afterwards, tired and listless. Her mind snapped awake, already running at a million miles an hour, even as her body felt heavy.

  
The second thing she noticed was she wasn’t alone in her bed. A warm, solid body was curled tightly against her back. An arm was under her neck and the other was wrapped around her torso. As Alice’s eyes blinked open and her breathing pattern changed, the owner of those arms shifted and pulled her closer.

  
Sunlight was curling gently in through the fluttering blue curtains in her room on the Jolly Roger. She could see Robin’s discarded bow leaning against the wall. Her father’s jacket was hung against her door – evidence that he had been here for some time and probably would be back at some point. Kaia was curled up like a cat in the reading chair Alice had shoved into the corner beneath the windows, head on her arms and eyes closed as she breathed deeply. She looked a little bruised, and there was a bandage around her thigh, but she looked whole and healthy. Alice ran her hand down the arm around her torso and put her hand over Robin’s where it gripped her shirt. All she remembered was Robin with a gun to her head and a sword to her gut. Robin bleeding from her neck. Robin covered in dirt and soot and surrounded by enemies. If Robin was here, with her arms around her, and not in the infirmary with Archie or being tended to by Zelena, then Robin was ok.

  
Alice finally relaxed. She shuffled back closer to Robin and just let herself be held until the gentle rocking of the ship and the soft breathing sounds of two of her favorite people lulled her back to sleep.

  
When she woke up again an hour or so later Kaia was awake and reading, but she could still hear the sleepy murmurs of Robin asleep behind her. She bit her lip at the cuteness of the little mumbling sounds. She must have made some sort of noise because grey eyes flicked up from the pages of the book and widened when they saw her awake and aware.

  
“Alice!” she said, softening her voice at the last moment. She threw her book to the side. “You’re awake!”

  
“What happened?” Alice whispered. “When did we get back on the Roger? Is everyone ok?”

  
“Everything’s ok,” Kaia reassured her. “We’ve been worried the most about you, actually.”

  
“Me?” Alice frowned.

  
“Yes, you. You’ve been asleep for two days.” Kaia’s smile went from warm to teasing in an instant. “Green-eyes over there practically had to be dragged away to eat. Something you want to tell me?”

  
Robin chose this exact moment to curl herself tighter around Alice. It helped neither the situation nor Alice’s blush. “There have been some…developments on that front,” she admitted.

  
“Obviously.”

  
“We’ll talk about it more later,” Alice said. “Just tell me everything that happened.”

  
“Well, we almost lost the island, but Blackbeard showed up with half the pirates on this side of the ocean and ran them off. We might still have to move. We’re looking into how strong the protection magic is right now.”

  
“Zelena can help with that,” Alice’s jaw popped when she yawned. “I can try too.”

  
“You can keep your cute little butt in bed and rest, is what you can do,” the words were teasing but her eyes were serious when she said them. “We almost lost you because you pushed yourself too far out there.”

  
“I’m fine,” Alice brushed off her concerns. She knew her limits. Well, she knew her limits now… “What else happened?”

 

“You are _not_ fine,” Kaia whispered fiercely. Alice was taken-aback by the intensity of the scowl her friend threw at her. “Do you understand what you did? How far you stretched yourself? Do you know how scary it was?”

 

“I’m sorry,” Alice said, and meant it this time. “I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I know seeing me do powerful stuff like that must have been off-putting, but - ”

 

“We don’t care about what you did!” Kaia interrupted. She pressed her lips together tightly. “Some people might, I guess, but most of us don’t. We care that you almost killed yourself doing it.”

 

“I’m ok,” Alice insisted.

 

“You _scared_ us,” Kaia said again, lower this time but no less intense. “We didn’t know when you were going to wake up.” Her eyes flickered over Alice’s shoulder as Robin shifted closer in her sleep. “You scared _her_ ,” she said, quieter still. “She tried to hide it, especially around your dad and her mom, but she was going out of her mind with worry.”

 

Alice pulled Robin’s hand up to tuck it under her chin. She could feel Robin’s pulse under her fingertips and it helped soothe the ache that sprang up at the thought of Robin worried or in pain.

 

“What else happened?” Alice prompted when it became obvious Kaia wasn’t going to continue on her own.

 

“It was tough. No everyone got through. Your dad will have a list of the lost crew for you better than I will.” Kaia bit her lip and blinked hard for a moment, trying to stave off tears. “Bea didn’t make it.”

  
Alice’s mouth went dry even as tears rushed to sting at the back of her eyes. She knew, in her mind, that there were people she knew that weren’t going to walk out of that battle alive. Losing Bea was still hard. Her chest ached with it. Her mind flashed back to images of Bea happy and alive, the woman who was the closest she’d had to a mother growing up. She still remembered when she was fourteen and her father - blushing furiously - had steered her into the bar by the shoulders and shoved her gently towards Bea for ‘womanly talks’. She was always looking out for her, letting her hang at the tavern when she was younger so she could keep an eye on her against any pirates who thought Alice might be an easy way to test Hook’s strength.

 

Her throat tightened. “Damnit.” Alice turned her head into the pillow to let it soak up her tears.

 

She felt a little guilty when Robin stirred awake behind her, but the pain in her chest eased when Robin nuzzled at the back of her neck and murmured, “I’m sorry.”

  
“Yeah,” Kaia sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “Fucking navy. At least we got more of them than they got of us. Tavern is gone, but we can rebuild that. Either here or if we move.”

  
“Wonderland isn’t a place, it’s people,” Alice quoted. It was something her father said a lot about the pirate island.

  
“Your girl pulled me from the tavern,” Kaia said softly. She groaned and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “Fucking hell, she’s going to be unbearable about that.”

  
“Fuck you, Diamond,” Robin mumbled against Alice’s shoulder.

  
“Fuck you too, green-eyes,” Kaia shot back.

  
“Can you two not needle at each other, please?” Alice asked. She squeezed Robin’s hand when the question was answered with a warm kiss to the back of her neck.

  
“It’s how we show affection.” Kaia waved her hand.

 

“Debatable,” Alice heard Robin whisper.

 

“You know I can still hear you,” Kaia whispered back. Alice giggled when Robin lifted the arm from around her waist to flip her off.

 

Robin lifted herself up and put her chin on Alice’s shoulder, now fully awake. “Some of us were trying to sleep,” she said.

 

Kaia scoffed. “Not sorry,” she said. “You’ve rested enough.”

 

Alice could see just enough of Robin’s face in her periphery to see her stick her tongue out.

 

“Don’t stick that tongue out unless you’re planning on doing something with it!” Kaia said.

 

Robin pulled her tongue back into her mouth so quickly it looked like she bit it a little and Alice put one hand over her face and laughed, a deep belly laugh that felt cathartic and freeing. Some of the tension from the last few days seemed to drain out of her with that laughter and it must have showed, because both Robin and Kaia were smiling at her when she settled down.

 

“It’s good to see you awake,” Robin said. She lifted herself up further, so she was half-sitting, and put a hand on the point of Alice’s hip and squeezed gently. The way she was looking at her, soft and tender, the gentle way she pulled her other arm out from underneath Alice’s neck to brush the hair off her forehead, made her heart stop for a moment.

 

“It’s good to be awake,” she said back. “I’ve rested plenty.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you’ve rested enough,” Kaia admonished. She stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt.

 

“True,” Robin nodded, “you need to take it easy for a while yet.”

 

Alice smirked. “Did you two just agree on something?” she asked slyly.

 

“That doesn’t sound right,” Kaia quipped immediately.

 

Robin made a face. “Don’t think so.”

 

Alice rolled her eyes at them and attempted to sit up. Robin dropped back down onto the bed behind her and curled around her again, limbs heavy to keep her in place. Alice sighed at her. “Really?” she asked with a hint of amusement.

 

Kaia walked over and patted her ankle through the blanket, then flicked at the lump she probably assumed was Robin’s leg. Robin kicked out at her. “Will you just for once in your life relax?” Kaia asked.

 

“I’ve been relaxing for days, apparently,” Alice argued. She made no move to get out of Robin’s arms, however. “Tell me what else I’ve missed. How is my dad? Robin’s mom? The Roger? At what strength is the crew? What is the plan for Wonderland? How bad was the overall damage?”

 

Kaia blinked at the onslaught. “Whoa,” she said, squeezing Alice’s ankle gently. “That’s a lot of questions. Your dad is fine! You know him. Strong and brave, even in a crisis. For most of those questions, he is a better person to ask, too. He wouldn’t have left your side if there weren’t so much to do. Wonderland is...deciding. Everything from the port inwards was pretty badly damaged, so most people have been staying in the buildings farther out as they sift through the wreckage. Once we’ve assessed the damage we’ll figure out what to do from there.”

 

“Are we rebuilding?” Alice asked.

 

“We don’t know,” Kaia said, pursing her lips in thought. “I think everyone is still deciding that. At the moment we’re just regrouping.” She looked at both of them and the twinkle came back into her eyes. “Anyway, I promised your dad and Zelena I’d come get them the minute you woke up. Why don’t I do that very, very slowly so you guys have some time to talk.” She walked backwards towards the door and winked at them as she pulled it open and shut behind her.

 

“I think I’m starting to like her,” Robin said after the door swung closed. “And that pisses me off.” She lifted herself up and didn’t stop Alice from sitting up with her.

 

Alice pulled her legs up underneath her and scooted around so she could look at Robin. All she could think about now that they were alone with the amount of worry that Kaia said she’d caused. She could still see it now, in the way Robin’s eyes tracked her as she moved.

 

“Robin,” she started, “I’m so-”

 

Robin cut her off with a kiss, her lips slamming hard into hers, and Alice squeaked in surprise, then let herself melt into the kiss.

 

The kiss was hungry and needy, even as Robin’s lips were soft and tender against hers. There was an underlying desperation that Alice felt aching in her chest, as if Robin hadn’t been sure that she would ever get to do this again.

 

Alice cupped Robin’s cheek with one hand, and wrapped her other into Robin’s shirt, holding firmly, letting her lips and the solid anchor of her presence there remind Robin that she was okay, she was there, she wasn’t going anywhere.

Robin pulled back with a gasp, and leaned her forehead against Alice’s. “Sorry, I just -”

 

It was Alice’s turn to cut her off. This kiss was more delicate, their lips barely brushing as they breathed each other’s air. “It’s okay,” Alice murmured against Robin’s lips before claiming them once again.

 

Robin let out a small whimper, and Alice could feel her body tremble.

 

“I’m okay,” Alice reassured her. She kissed her yet again, deeper once more. She let her tongue swipe into Robin’s mouth, relishing in the taste as their tongues met.

 

She was just about to reposition her hand so that it could do some exploring of Robin’s body, when a knock sounded at the door.

 

“Remember what I said about starting to like Kaia?” Robin asked, lips brushing hers as she spoke. “I take that back. She could have stalled longer.” She pulled away and Alice had to resist the urge to use the hand fisted in her shirt to pull her back. Instead she let Robin distance herself.

 

Alice knew from the flushed look on her father’s face as he burst into the room that there was little any power in the universe could have done to stall him further. He must have practically run to her room.

 

“Starfish!”

 

“Papa!” Alice held her arms open and her father rushed over and pulled her into a hug. It didn’t matter how old she was, there was nothing quite as comforting as her father’s arms around her. She breathed in the sea and the oil of the leather on his coat where it lingered in the cotton of his shirt, and everything that was her father, and she breathed out tension she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

 

“I’m glad to see you’re finally awake,” Zelena said. Alice turned her head against her father’s shoulder so she could look at Zelena. The last time she’d seen Robin’s mom she’d been covered in dirt and grime, pale and shaking with nullifying cuffs on her wrists. The woman who stood before her now looked stronger. Her shoulders were held high and she was smiling at Alice with a level of affection she’d never shown her before. Whatever animosity had existed between mother and daughter before had clearly been somewhat mended, if the grin Robin threw her mom was anything to go on.

 

“How are you feeling?” Alice asked.

 

Zelena shook her head and scoffed under her breath. “Is that really the first question you have?”

 

“It’s more like the fifty-first,” Robin corrected.

 

That reminded her. She pulled back in her father’s arms just enough to look him in the face. “What happened?” she asked. “What kind of strength is the Roger at? How many men did we lose?”   

 

Her father kissed her forehead and when he pulled away his smile was pressed thin. “We’re here to fight another day. That’s all that matters.”

 

“All of us?” Alice asked. She could read the answer in the sadness in her father’s eyes.

 

“Let’s not worry about that right now.”

 

Before Alice could argue the point any more, Zelena cleared her throat. “How about I check to make sure Alice is healing properly and then we’ll give you two some alone time?” she suggested.

 

Her father squeezed her shoulders and stepped to the side to give Zelena room. He didn’t take her hand off her arm, however, as if he was worried if he let go for even a moment she’d disappear. Zelena hummed a little under her breath as she pressed glowing hands to her temple and chest.

 

“Is she okay?” Robin asked.

 

“You could maybe give me more than five seconds before you asked,” Zelena admonished lightly. She gave the top of Alice’s head an affectionate tap as she pulled her hands away. “Right as rain. The sleep did you good. Keep the magic to a minimum for the next couple of days.”

 

Alice gave both her father and Robin a look that very clearly said ‘see?’.

 

“Don’t look so smug,” her father said gruffly, but she could see he was biting his cheek to contain his smile.  

 

“I stopped a fire,” Alice said gleefully. “On my own.”

 

“And then passed out,” Robin countered. “Please don’t repeat it.”

 

“And scared the bloody hell out of the entire Navy,” Hook said, a hint of pride in his voice.

 

“And all of us,” Zelena added. “Don’t let him fool you, Alice. He’s been a wreck.”

 

Hook stood up a little straighter, but his hand still didn’t leave Alice’s shoulder. “I am never a wreck.”

 

Zelena rolled her eyes and moved to put a firm hand on Robin’s shoulder. “Come on, love, let’s give them some time.”

 

Alice saw Robin start to protest, but she gave her a little nod, and Robin relented without a word. She stayed quiet until they had left the room but once they did she looked back at her father. She wanted answers and she wouldn’t accept the way he’d dodged her questions earlier.

 

He must have known that. He wouldn’t quite meet her eyes, even when she lifted her chin up to catch his. “Papa,” she said. “How many?”

 

He sighed and the weight of his answer brought his shoulders down. “Ten,” he said. “More than that wounded, but Archie and Zelena say they’ll pull through just fine. The worst was Smee.”

 

“Is he ok?” Alice asked with her heart in her throat.

 

“Better now. They had to take part of his leg.” A wry smile ghosted across his face. “He says he’s more of a real pirate than me now, with his replacement.”

 

Ten losses. It was less than it could have been, less than she’d ever hoped, but still more than she wanted.

 

“And the damage?”

 

“Wonderland isn’t safe anymore. Not with maps that show its existence. The damage to the island might not have been complete, but the mission in port is salvage, not rebuild. Wonderland will need a new home.”

 

As much as she knew that Wonderland was the people, and not the place, the news still hit like a physical blow. She’d spent so much of her life there. So many of her memories centered around the island. She knew those memories wouldn’t fade just because the island wasn’t there anymore. It still hurt to think that the next time she stepped foot in the pirate city it would be on new ground, under a new part of the sky that had never watched her learn to cheat at cards, or haggle for prices, or have her first kiss. She brushed her hand through her hair like the motion would also push the sad thoughts away.  

 

He squeezed her hand tightly and she squeezed back. The threat of tears was still there in the shaky smile she gave him.

 

“Oh,” his chin popped up and his smile came back, this time much stronger and steadier. “There’s something else.”

 

“Something good?”

 

He shrugged. “You’ll like the consequences, I believe. The man in the square, the Duke’s commander. Do you...do you remember him?” He softened his voice at the end.

 

Maybe he thought because of the state she was in that she wouldn’t recall what happened. She did recall, in vivid detail, the feeling of losing control of her magic. She remembered a tall man with hate in his eyes and a sword pointed at Robin. She clenched her jaw and nodded.

 

“He’s not a good man,” he said, and winced at the understatement. “And Zelena is worried - rightly, from what she’s told me of her past - that now that he knows Robin exists he’ll be hunting her.” He winced again, this time from the grip Alice had on his hand. She let go and he flexed his fingers. “The White Kingdom is landlocked. There’s no way to deliver them directly into safe hands. And there’s no way to guarantee they’ll be safe until Nottingham is dead.”

 

Alice’s mind was whirring a mile a minute. She thought she knew where he was going with this, and the twinkle in his eyes did nothing to quell the excited flutter in her stomach.

 

“We’ve made another deal,” he said. “I’ll help kill Nottingham, she’ll help kill Gothel, and once both our children are safe, then they’ll be leaving the Roger.”

 

Alice threw her arms around her father’s neck. He laughed and patted her back.

 

“I know you enjoy spending time with her. It’s good to see you have a friend your age on the ship.” He said with a chuckle.

 

She had to bite her lip to keep a disbelieving laugh from escaping. She wasn’t ready to tell her father quite yet what it meant to her that Robin was staying on board.

 

“Of course, I guess you have some more company these days. Ruby is...Well, she’s something. She’s settling in nicely, even if the men are a little jumpy around her.”

 

Alice giggled. “I can’t imagine why,” she said. “They’ll get used to her. She’s been a really big help and we wouldn’t...we wouldn’t have found out about the attack in time if it wasn’t for her.”

 

If she was less observant, if she didn’t know her father as well as she did, maybe she wouldn’t have caught the way his eyes slid away from her. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed the tick in his jaw, like he was biting the inside of his cheek. Except she _was_ observant, and she _did_ know him that well, and she noticed both of those things.

 

“Papa,” she said with a hint of warning. “What aren’t you saying?”

 

“Nothing to worry about, Starfish. You should get some more rest.”

 

Alice fixed him with a steely glare. “Papa,” she said again, the warning ringing loud and clear this time.

 

Hook sighed and fidgeted with his hook in the way he only ever did when there was really bad news. She wondered what could possibly be worse than losing ten of the crew, than losing the island.

 

“I’ll find out eventually,” Alice pointed out. There was very little that her Papa could keep from her for long.

 

He nodded, but his eyes didn’t quite meet hers. “It’s about your...It’s...The way that Whale knew how to find Wonderland…Magic was involved, of course, and...”

 

“My mother,” Alice said quietly, connecting the dots.

 

“Don’t call her that. She doesn’t deserve that title. She may have birthed you, but she has _never_ been your mother,” Hook argued, his bright eyes finally meeting her gaze.

 

Alice nodded. “Gothel did it.”

 

Hook nodded back.

 

“Because of me,” Alice concluded, her heart sinking into her gut. Her friends and her crew were dead because of her. Wonderland was in ruins because of her. _She_ had brought this about.

 

Hook knelt beside her, and cradled her face with his good hand. “No! No, my love. Not because of you.”

 

It was Alice’s turn to not meet his gaze. “She wouldn’t have cared it if wasn’t for me,” she insisted. “Nothing would have happened to Wonderland if I wasn’t...if I didn’t…” The lump in her throat made it difficult to keep going.

 

“Wonderland was always going to be attacked,” her father said. “If not now, some other time. It was a pirate safe haven. It had a target on it from day one, long before you, and even before me.”

 

Except that it hadn’t happened another time. It had happened now and it had happened because of Gothel, and the only reason Gothel wanted anything to do with Wonderland was because of her.

 

“What if she does it again?” Alice asked. “Not Wonderland, but the Roger. You. Robin and Zelena. What happens the next time she attacks something I care about just because I care about it?”

 

“We kill her,” he answered. Simply. Honestly.

 

Alice let out a laugh, half-choked by tears. “We don’t even know how. We don’t even know if we can!”

 

“We can, and we will,” he insisted.

 

Alice looked unconvinced.

 

He brushed a piece of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You know what Robin said to me, once?” he asked, and waited for her to shake her head before he continued. “You put enough arrows in anything and it’ll die.”

 

This time the laughter was less watery. She wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. “That does sound like her,” she said.

 

He stood up, pressing another kiss against her forehead as he did so. “Enough of this,” he said. “Why don’t you come get something to eat. The sun should be good for you and the men will want to see you’re all right. They’ve been instructed not to mob you, but you know what they’re like with you. Don’t be afraid to give them a little shove.”

 

She giggled and he grabbed his jacket off the hook on her wall on their way out. She was glad to see him put it back on. He looked less like himself without the trademark leather hanging off his shoulders.

 

The resounding cheer that sounded when she stepped out onto the top deck made her grin. Just as her father predicted she was almost immediately mobbed. Her father rolled his eyes and shoved some of them away, but most just wanted to squeeze her hand, ruffle her hair, pat her shoulder. It made her tear up a little how much they just wanted to make sure she was ok.

 

“You all had one job,” Robin’s voice sounded off nearby. Alice’s heart leapt. Robin was sitting on the railing above them, swinging her legs out into empty air and grinning at the scene. “We said don’t crowd her.”

 

One of the pirates gave her a mock salute. She flipped him off and Alice laughed.

 

“Aye-aye, captain,” another drawled sarcastically.

 

This time they allowed themselves to be shooed away, after assuring themselves that Alice was indeed fine, and the moment she felt like she could breathe again she was nearly bowled over by an excited Ruby.

 

Robin’s sigh was so loud they could hear it from ten feet away. “Ruby, seriously?”

 

“I was just worried,” Ruby defended herself without moving her arms from where they lay around Alice’s shoulders.

 

Her father pressed one last kiss to the side of her head and walked away, patting Ruby’s shoulder as he did so. He ducked when Robin made a playful kick at his head. Alice heard him mutter something about “women” just before he was out of earshot.

 

“I heard someone complaining about women and I knew that was my cue,” Kaia said. She smacked Robin’s leg as she walked by and Robin kicked out again, tapping her shoulder in a way that Alice knew wasn’t designed to do any actual harm. It warmed her heart to think that two of the most important people in her life were finding a way to coexist despite their bumpy start.

 

“Will you get down from there?” Alice asked Robin.

 

Robin grinned smugly down at her. “Nope, this is my spot now. Nothing shall move me from this spot, on pain of death or -”

 

“No kisses.”

 

“Moving.”

 

Robin stood up and swung herself over the railing. She landed nimbly on her toes and executed a grand bow, to the applause of absolutely no one. The look she gave them was just short of being a pout.

 

Alice barely resisted the urge to pull her in for a kiss. Instead she reached out and hooked one of her fingers through Robin’s.

 

“Subtle,” Ruby commented with one eyebrow raised.

 

Alice ignored her as she grinned at Robin. The grin that Robin gave her back set her heart aflutter. How had she missed two days of seeing her face? Maybe she did need to take it easy because that sounded like way too long.

 

“Are we fearing the wrath of Captain Hook?” Kaia asked. “Because he seems to like Robin just fine.”

 

“I dunno,” Ruby replied nudging Kaia with her elbow. “He might change his tune if he knew what I’d caught them up to when they were meant to be pretending to be victims of pirates.”

 

Kaia perked up at that. “Really? Do enlighten me,” she said, moving in even closer to Ruby.

 

“OKAY, WELL! That’s quite enough of that!” Robin said, and Alice caught the blush creeping up her cheeks.

 

“You’re gonna tell me later, right?” Kaia asked Ruby.

 

Ruby gave her a firm nod. “Oh, yeah.”

 

Alice glared at both of them, but she couldn’t actually find it in herself to mind. The banter was distracting her from the pain of the losses they’d suffered and the guilt she felt. This was what they needed.

 

An idea sparked in the back of her mind. This was what the whole crew needed. Nothing pulled pirates together like some drink and some laughter, and the best way to do that was with, “Pirate theater!” Alice declared.

 

Kaia’s eyes lit up at the same time that Robin and Ruby looked at her confused.  

 

“Yessss!” Kaia agreed, drawing out the last syllable with glee. “Nothing finer! That’ll sort the lads.”

 

“What now?” Ruby asked.

 

“We pirates aren’t just scallywags that raid ships and elude the navy. We have fun, too, you know,” Alice replied.

 

Kaia picked up where she’d left off. “And as they’re prone to being a bit dramatic -”

 

“Hey!” Alice protested, though it was incredibly true.

 

Kaia winked at her and continued, “The most fun, after a few pints of course, is pirate theater. They relive their more exciting adventures with a bit of extra flair.”

 

“And a fair bit of embellishment for the most part,” Alice conceded.

 

“If not bold-faced lies,” Kaia went on. “But there’s nothing more entertaining than watching a group of drunk pirates act out. Or put themselves on trial. For piracy, of course.”

 

“That sounds amazing!” Robin said.

 

“I’m in,” Ruby agreed.

 

Alice grinned. “Spread the word. Pirate theater happens tomorrow night.”  


* * *

 

The next night was clear and balmy. No rain storms to drive them below deck. The men had started to set up torches and Zelena had snapped her fingers and summoned mage light instead, giving Alice a pointed and reproachful look when she stood up to help. Alice sat back down guiltily.

 

A full day and night of rest had done wonders for Alice physically, but didn’t mean that she should be doing anything remotely magical. The men were buzzing with excitement and good humor, the first positive emotions she’d seen out of everyone in the last day. It had been a long day of rebuilding the Roger and sifting through the wreckage on the island. A lot of scavenging took place, for parts of the Roger that needed to be completely rebuilt, from ships that were completely beyond repair. They’d also spread the word that any men who had lost their ships or their captain were welcome to join the crew of the Jolly Roger.

 

Alice sat at the very back of the series of makeshift benches that had been set up to go along with the real ones they’d dragged upstairs from the galley. Robin came over and handed her a tankard. Alice only sipped at the contents, and looked surprised when it was just mulled cider.

 

“Mom said you shouldn’t drink for a little while,” Robin said with a shrug. She held up her own cup of cider in a show of solidarity.

Alice groaned. “Magic is awful and I’m never using it again,” she complained.

 

Robin laughed. She looked around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention to them and kissed Alice’s cheek when she sat down. The kiss warmed Alice from the inside more than the cider.

 

“So do you guys really do this all the time?” Robin asked. She leaned in so their shoulders were brushing together.

 

“Maybe not all the time,” Alice answered. “But it’s a really good way to lift morale, and you’d be surprised how boring it gets on the open sea sometimes.”

 

“Are you going to be putting on a show?” Robin asked. Her full lips were pulled up in a teasing smirk and Alice was close enough that if she wanted to, she could lean in and kiss the smirk off her face. She didn’t.

 

“I could,” Alice winked at her. “If you joined me.”

 

Robin blushed, eyebrows lifted in surprise, but her smile was delighted. “There is no way I’m getting up in front of the crew and making a fool of myself.”

 

Alice grinned. “That’s half the fun. You’ll see. Everyone makes a fool of themselves and everyone loves it and cheers for more.”

 

“I’m not even a pirate,” Robin argued.

 

Alice purposefully pressed her arm a little more firmly against Robin’s. “You belong. Besides, Kaia’s not either, and look.” Alice nodded to the front near the area they’d cleared as a stage was, and Kaia and Ruby were both trying on various fancy hats from a set of cargo they hadn’t yet had the opportunity to sell. The one Ruby had on at the moment was so floppy and outlandish it touched her shoulders on both sides. Kaia was doubled over laughing at her.

 

Robin shook her head at them. “Still not happening,” she said stubbornly.

 

“Fine, have it your way,” Alice took another sip of her cider, grinning as Robin eyed the stage warily, like it would come to life and drag her onto it.

 

It soon became apparent, as the men filled the seats and the first person stood up, that it was going to be an eventful night. Smee was the first person to climb up. He was still pale and wobbled a little, and the pirate he acted out his battle with was very slow and gentle with his ‘attacks’, but he retold the story of his lost leg. Everyone laughed uproariously when the wooden replacement was knocked out from under him and he grinned and puffed up his chest, proud of himself for the reaction.

 

Her father jumped up next. He retold, swinging from the rigging and all, the story of taking out not one but two rival pirate ships who had thought to sneak up on the Roger. Some of the men who had been there joined in, each embellishing their own part in the battle. Alice sat back and enjoyed that one. It was something that had happened long before she was born.

 

When he was finished he turned with a flushed face and a twinkle in his eyes and pointed his hook at Alice. “Pirate!” he accused.

 

Alice burst into laughter. “A pirate? Me?” she said.

 

A few of the men scrambled away in mock fright as Randy charged down the makeshift ‘aisle’ between benches to haul her (very gently) to her feet. Robin nearly started choking on her drink. A chant of ‘pirate!’ started up as she was frogmarched onto the stage.

 

“Pirates are never alone! They have a crew!” Kaia’s voice called out. “I reckon that be a pirate beside her as well!

 

“‘I reckon’?” Alice mouthed at Kaia as she walked past. Kaia grinned and winked at her. She was marched to the top of the stage and watched as Billy hauled a furiously blushing Robin up after her.

 

“Dread Pirate Alice Jones,” intoned Archie seriously. “You have been accused of piracy. How do you plead?”

 

“Not guilty!” Alice said back.

 

“Dread Pirate Robin Mills. You have also been accused of piracy. How do _you_ plead?”

 

“I’m not a pirate!” Robin protested, still blushing all the way to the tips of her ears.

 

“Well then you should keep better company.”

 

Robin stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“Wait, if I’m such a dread pirate, what are my crimes?” Alice asked.

 

“You are accused of consorting with known pirates,” Archie said.

 

The crowd booed.

 

“You are accused of looting,” more booing followed, “and pillaging.”

 

Alice started to giggle, especially when her father came around and loosely tied a rope around her wrists as someone else did the same to Robin. She could see Robin’s shoulders shaking with repressed laughter.

 

“You are accused of public drunkenness,” Archie went on. The crowd cheered raucously. Alice bowed a little. Archie kept going, voice tight with trying to hold back laughter. “For this and other dastardly crimes you are sentenced to walk the plank.”

 

Alice let herself be led towards an actual plank that had been extended for just such an occasion. “Woe is me,” she pitched her voice dramatically. “Piracy does not pay!” This elicited a chorus of booing and laughter. “Alas, my bonds are too tight! If only my loyal crew had not been captured, too, perhaps I could be saved!”

 

She looked over her shoulder. Robin was still bright red, but she caught Alice’s eye and couldn’t seem to stop the grin that spread over her face. “Fear not, dear captain, my bonds are loose! I shall escape and rescue you!” she shouted back, voice still shaky with embarrassment but getting stronger as her declaration was met with only cheers. She shook her wrists and the ropes fell off.

 

“Not so fast, pirate!” one of the men rushed forward to recapture her and Robin kicked at him. He fell to the ground before her boot ever connected with his chest and dropped his sword. Robin grabbed it. Another pirate ran at her and they exchanged a few brief, flamboyant blows before Robin mimed stabbing him and he collapsed with a high-pitched scream.

Robin threw her sword down and climbed up the rigging. One of the men started to go after her and she kicked him away. He dropped and rolled so far that Alice had to bite her cheek hard to keep her giggles in check. Robin grabbed a rope and, to a chorus of cheers, swung down and grabbed Alice. Alice held tightly to the rope as Robin held onto her and the rope swung around in a gentle circle and they dropped safely back onto the deck.

 

She tugged at the ‘bonds’ around Alice’s wrists until they came free and gave her a flourishing bow. “My captain,” she said, looking up at Alice through her lashes.

 

Alice grinned at her. “My hero,” she said.

 

The crowd cheered and applause rang out, as some of the crew even got to their feet and a few people blew them kisses.

 

Alice barely noticed because there was a twinkle in Robin’s eyes as she looked at her that sparked a fire low in her stomach.

 

She flashed a smile as she and Robin took a bow then headed back to their spot at the back. She feigned a yawn, then another on the way.

 

“I’m feeling kind of tired,” she murmured to Robin, just loud enough so that a few of the people around them could overhear.

 

Robin’s forehead crinkled in concern. “You probably overdid it. You should rest.”

 

“Help me to my room?” Alice requested.

 

“Of course,” Robin replied, wrapping a supportive arm around Alice.

 

Alice made a bit of a show of leaning on her for support as she gave her father a wave. She mimed being tired and he nodded. She caught Zelena’s eye as she turned and, maybe it was her imagination, but it seemed as if Zelena looked more suspicious than concerned. Kaia and Ruby, who were now leaning against a mast nearby gave her knowing looks as they bid them goodnight.

 

As they headed below deck, Alice continued to lean into Robin, not because she needed the support but for the warmth of her touch.

 

“Are you okay?” Robin asked.

 

Alice nodded.

 

“I have to say, Pirate Theater is as fun as it was sold to be,” Robin said as they turned down the corridor to her room.

 

Alice grinned. “I’m glad you took part.”

 

They reached her room and Alice felt her heart begin to race a little faster. She stepped inside, but Robin lingered in the doorway.

 

Alice turned to her and reached forward to run her fingers through the loose strands of hair that had fallen from her braid. She tucked them behind her ear. “After all,” she said with a coy smile, “you saved me.”

 

The men were all on deck and they could hear the distant cheering and thumping as the merriment continued. It would be hours yet before anyone else began to trickle down to their berths. There was no need to hide her affection.

 

Robin chuckled. “Yes, from the very warm, shallow waters you were about to be thrown into,” she retorted.

 

Alice smiled, and let her hand trail down over Robin’s arm until her fingers intertwined with hers, she gave her a little tug as she stepped backwards into her room, one eyebrow raised. “I should give my hero a proper thank you, still, don’t you think?”

 

Robin’s eyes went wide as realization dawned. She stepped into the room, led by Alice, and swung the door shut behind her. “A thank you?” Robin echoed.

 

Alice nodded, drawing Robin into her.

 

“What did you have in mind?” Robin asked, a knowing smile stretching across her lips.

 

Alice pressed up onto the balls of her feet and wrapped her arms around Robin’s neck as Robin’s hands fell naturally to her hips. She bumped her nose gently against Robin’s. The air between them felt charged with electricity as Robin’s clear green eyes held her gaze. “Oh, I’m sure I can think of something,” Alice murmured, her lips ghosting against Robin’s as she spoke.

 

Robin surged forward to press their lips together, and Alice kissed back fervently. Robin’s hands pulled her hips in closer as Alice tangled her fingers in Robin’s hair. She stumbled backwards, Robin coming with her, until her hips hit her desk.

 

She let out a slight gasp at the contact, and Robin moved to pull back a little in concern.

 

“You okay?”

 

Alice nodded enthusiastically, closing the gap between them again.

 

Robin’s lips were soft, but her tongue was demanding, and her hands began to roam up Alice’s sides, dragging up the thin fabric of her flowy shirt as she did so.

 

Heat flooded through her as Robins fingers trailed up under her shirt, ghosting against the exposed skin of her stomach. She wanted more. No, she _needed_ more. They had waited so long, been interrupted so many times. There wasn’t apt to be anyone to interrupt them tonight.

 

She spun them around so that it was Robin pinned against the desk, and Alice broke away just long enough to tug her top over her head before surging forward once more.

 

Robin let out a small gasp that Alice swallowed up with her lips.

 

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Robin asked between kisses, her voice husky and breathless.

 

The sound sent a shiver of excitement through Alice. “Positive,” Alice assured her.

 

“We don’t have to rush -”

 

“Robin?” Alice said, pulling back to look into her eyes, but keeping her hips firmly pressed against Robin’s.

 

Robin’s gaze met hers.

 

“There is no conceivable way that this could be considered us rushing things,” Alice replied. She let her hands stray to the buttons of Robin’s shirt, and Robin glanced down as Alice popped the top one open. “I have done nothing,” she said, undoing the next one down, “but rest,” another button undone, “for the last three days,” and the next.

 

Her gaze dropped, following Robin’s swallow down her throat to her newly exposed collarbones as her fingers nimbly opened the next two buttons. She could see the heavy rise and fall of her chest as her eyes traced the neck of her undershirt down to the curve of her breasts. She leaned in close and pressed a kiss to Robin’s lips, then another to her cheek.

 

“I have wanted you,” she continued, feeling Robin shiver as her hot breath fell against Robin’s ear, “since the moment,” she placed a kiss just beneath Robin’s ear and Robin’s head fell back a little, “I laid eyes on you,” Alice finished, her lips brushing against the skin on Robin’s throat.

 

She felt the vibration through her lips as Robin let out a small moan, and Alice’s fingers undid the last button. She kissed slowly down Robin’s throat as her hands slid up and over Robin’s shoulders, pushing the fabric of her shirt until it fell to the desk. Alice paused to suck gently at the base of Robin’s throat, just for a moment, before pulling back to look Robin in the eyes, the slightest inkling of doubt suddenly needling at the back of her mind.

 

“Unless you don’t -”

 

She couldn’t even finish her thought before Robin’s lips smashed against hers in answer, her tongue sweeping into her mouth, the lingering hint of cider making each caress taste sweet.

 

“I do,” Robin assured her breathlessly, her hands trailing down Alice’s sides, tickling enough to send a shudder through her body.

 

Alice grinned against Robin’s lips, then claimed them again as her fingers dropped to Robin’s belt, fumbling clumsily with the buckle. Robin traced along the waistline of Alice’s trousers until she found the ties and began to unlace them. There was no finesse to their movements - instead, a feeling that they’d waited long enough and now there were far too many articles of clothing lingering between them.

 

Their lips met over and over as their fingers worked, Alice unbuckling Robin’s belt before Robin could undo her trousers.

 

“Dammit, why isn’t there an easier way to get these off?!” Robin swore, breaking the kiss to duck her head and see what she was trying to do.

 

Alice giggled, and stepped back just out of Robin’s reach. Robin grumbled in protest and made to close the distance, but Alice held up a finger. Robin looked up curiously at her, and Alice held her gaze as she unlaced her trousers and let them slide down her legs before stepping out of them back towards Robin.

 

Robin’s eyes grew darker as they dragged down over her, and Alice felt her body flush in response. She let her own eyes travel over Robin. Why was she still wearing so much?

 

She reached out and grabbed the unbuckled belt, using it to tug Robin towards her and into a kiss. “Clothes off, Mills,” she murmured against her lips, letting her hands slide up to curl in the fabric of her undershirt.

 

Robin’s answering chuckle was swallowed by a kiss that only stopped long enough for Alice to pull Robin’s shirt up over her head. She tossed it aside, not caring where it landed, as her hands met Robin’s at her trousers.

 

Together they managed to undo them enough that Robin could slide them down over her legs. She had barely kicked them away before she was surging forward, capturing Alice’s lips with her own once more.

 

They stumbled backwards, Robin’s hand tangling in Alice’s hair  while Alice wrapped her arms around the bare skin of Robin’s waist as they moved. Alice’s calves hit the bed and she sat down instinctively, Robin leaning down into the kiss. Robin climbed into her lap and straddled her, her head falling back as Alice kissed down her throat, pausing to scrape her teeth gently across her pulse point.  She chuckled against the soft skin there as Robin let out a throaty moan, and then she smoothed over the spot with her tongue, eliciting another small moan from Robin.

 

She kissed lower, across Robin’s collarbone and down her chest to the curve of her breast. Why was Robin still wearing any clothes? Why was there fabric barring her access to the one thing she wanted to kiss more than anything right now?

 

“Off,” she muttered, her finger trailing along the hem of Robin’s bra.

 

Robin giggled. “Demanding,” she teased, but her fingers deftly reached behind her and undid her bra.

 

“I’m a pirate,” Alice reminded her with a smirk as Robin slid the straps down over her shoulders and let them drop.

 

The smirk fell from Alice’s face and she drew in a sharp breath as her eyes drank in the sight of a topless Robin in her lap. She felt like she couldn’t breathe at the sheer beauty before her. She was almost hesitant to touch as she watched pink spread up and across Robin’s chest, and when she looked back up to meet her gaze, she saw the blush coloring her cheeks as well.

 

“You’re stunning,” Alice breathed, pulling Robin down for a fierce kiss. She felt Robin’s breath hitch as their bodies pressed together.

 

She pulled back to look once more, letting her hands trail down over Robin’s shoulders and brush against her sides, dipping in between her ribs. The touch sent a shiver down Robin’s spine that Alice felt echoed in her own body as she brought her fingers back up, stroking the smooth skin of her stomach and feeling the muscles contract as she touched them.

 

She cupped Robin’s breasts tenderly as she peppered soft kisses across her chest. She felt more than heard Robin gasp as she brushed her thumbs up and over Robin’s nipples. She tried it again, her touch firmer this time, and Robin let out a small whimper. This beautiful, strong, incredible woman was being undone slowly by her touch. Alice didn’t think there was anything sexier in the world.

 

She kissed lower, moving her hands back down to help anchor Robin in her lap as she trailed her tongue across the supple skin of Robin’s breasts. She flicked it gently against first one erect nipple and then the other before sucking one into her mouth.

 

Robin arched back pushing her breasts further, her hands grasping at Alice’s shoulders to steady her as another gasp escaped her lips. Alice danced her tongue around Robin’s nipple before releasing it with a satisfying wet *pop*, and then she turned to lavish her attention on the other one.

 

“Fuck!” Robin breathed, and Alice sat back and blinked.

 

Maybe this was too much. Maybe Robin had been hinting when she said they didn’t have to rush. Before she could open her mouth to ask, Robin had captured her lips in a deep kiss, her fingers fumbling with the clasp of her bra.

 

“Off!” she echoed Alice’s complaint from before.

 

Alice chuckled into another kiss. “Now who’s demanding?” she asked, though her voice was muffled by Robin’s lips on hers.

 

“Aha!” Robin declared as Alice’s bra grew loose around her chest.

 

Alice shrugged it off quickly and tossed it to the floor, and then Robin’s lips were on hers once more, pressing and needy. _And demanding,_ she thought to herself as she smiled into the kiss.

 

Robin pushed forward and Alice lost her balance and fell back onto the bed, pulling Robin down on top of her. Her breath hitched as Robin’s body pressed into hers, skin on skin, erect nipples brushing against her own breasts. It was so much more contact than they’d ever had before - than they’d ever allowed themselves to have before.  

 

Robin drew back and sat there, straddling her lap, eyes tracing down over her. Alice shivered at the look of desire she saw in Robin’s eyes. Robin reached out and trailed her fingers slowly over Alice’s skin, barely pressing down at all. Her fingers traveled up Alice’s arms, then ghosted across her chest, painting invisible pictures along her skin.

 

Alice barely dared breathe as Robin’s fingers brushed gently down over her breasts, circling the nipples as they hardened beneath the touch.

 

Alice wanted more. She _needed_ more. “Robin,” she murmured, her voice husky and strained.

 

Robin’s eyes flicked up to meet hers, and then she was surging down into another kiss, one hand firmly cupping Alice’s breast while the other braced her beside Alice’s head.

 

Alice whimpered as Robin pinched her nipple, not hard, but enough.

 

“Okay?” Robin asked.

 

Alice nodded into another kiss. “More,” she pleaded.

 

Robin kissed along her jawline and found the spot just behind her ear, flicking her tongue against it, then kissing it again.

 

A strangled moan escaped her lips as Robin nipped at her ear at the same time that she rolled her nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She felt Robin smile against the skin of her throat.

 

Robin rolled her nipple between her finger and thumb again as she peppered wet kisses down her throat. Her teeth grazed against Alice’s collarbone and then lips pressed tender kisses back across it. She switched her attentions of her hand to Alice’s other breast as she kissed along the skin of her chest.

 

Alice arched her back off the bed as Robin’s lips met her fingers on her breast, tongue tracing hot circles around her nipple.

 

She gasped out a breath, and Robin drew back with a concerned look on her face. “Too much? I don’t want you to overdo.”

 

Alice shook her head. “I am not going to break. I am not that fragile.”

 

Robin relaxed a little, but Alice could still see the telling furrow between her eyebrows.

 

“If I don’t get you naked in bed with me soon, though, I might spontaneously combust.”

 

Robin’s face relaxed into a broad grin, and then she raised a suggestive eyebrow at Alice. “Is that so?”

 

Alice nodded, and Robin climbed off her lap and stood before her, one hand on her hip and a cocky smirk on her face. She pulled out her hair tie and shook her hair out over her shoulders and Alice felt like she was staring at Aphrodite come to life before her. She swallowed hard, her fingers itching to tangle in Robin’s hair as their bodies moved in sync. Robin stepped forward again and ran her fingers slowly up Alice’s thighs, keeping eye contact the whole time. When her fingers hit Alice’s underwear, she hooked her fingers in them and dragged them down, losing patience at the end as she stepped away and tossed them aside.

 

Her eyes, now dark, drank in the skin she’d just revealed, and for a moment, Alice felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, but then Robin hooked her thumbs into her own underwear and slid them down.

 

Alice forgot how to breathe. She forgot how to think. She forgot everything except the sight of Robin naked before her.

 

“Scoot back,” Robin coaxed, her voice gravelly and uneven.

 

It took Alice a full few seconds to register the words, and another few for her to process them enough to comply. She scooted backwards up the bed, her eyes trained on Robin, who climbed in after her, moving up and over Alice’s body with an almost predatory gleam in her eyes.

 

“I want you,” Robin murmured, so softly Alice almost missed it, and then Robin’s lips were on hers once more and Robin’s body was pressed into hers, and Alice couldn’t think words anymore, all she could do was feel.

 

Her hands dragged down Robin’s muscular back as Robin slid a leg between Alice’s, her thigh pressing firmly against the wetness that waited for her there.

 

Robin trailed fingers over Alice’s breast, up her ribs, and back down her stomach, ghosting paths over her hip and across her upper thigh before sliding away, back up again.

 

Alice let her own hands explore, mapping each muscle as it moved beneath her touch, catching each scar with the pads of her fingers, memorizing the reaction to each and every touch so that she could make them happen again and again.

 

“Alice,” Robin gasped against her throat before pulling back to look down into Alice’s eyes.

 

Alice stared up into hooded green eyes, dark with lust, and something in the gaze made her breath catch. There was an intensity that Alice felt echoed back in her own chest, but couldn’t find the words to express. Robin’s eyes searched her face, and Alice watched as concern darkened her expression.

 

“Hey,” Alice comforted, cupping Robin’s face and running the pad of her thumb across her cheek as if she could coax a smile back onto her mouth in doing so. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

 

Robin swallowed hard, and shook her head, and Alice could feel the movement all down her body.

 

“What?” Alice asked again, pushing up to press a chaste kiss to Robin’s lips.

 

Robin chased her back down, kissing her again, deeper. Her hands began to explore once more, but Alice wanted to know what was going on in Robin’s head.

 

“Hey,” she said again, breaking the kiss and cupping Robin’s face once more. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

 

Robin bit her lower lip and nodded, but her eyes didn’t quite meet Alice’s.

 

Alice slid one hand through Robin’s silky locks, pushing it back and out of her face to better see her. “Talk to me.”

 

Robin shifted on top of her and Alice did her best not to be distracted by the sensations it produced in her, but she couldn’t stop the small gasp of air that escaped her lips. A small smile tugged at Robin’s lips and she shifted again, more intentionally this time. She raised an eyebrow at Alice when she barely repressed a moan.

 

“You’re not going to distract me,” Alice said, though that was not proving true at that exact moment.

 

Robin chuckled and then her face became serious again. She propped herself up on her elbow and trailed the fingers of her other hand down through Alice’s hair and along her cheek. “I was so scared,” Robin whispered, her eyes focused on where the backs of her fingers were gently brushing against Alice’s jawline. “I saw you so full of magic, eyes radiating light, and for a moment I thought-”

 

Robin shook her head again and turned her face into Alice’s hand, kissing the palm tenderly.

 

Alice didn’t want to let that sentence go unfinished, though. “You thought?” she prompted.

 

“What if it had consumed you?” Robin finally asked. “What if I never got you back? I-” Robin took a deep breath. “I can’t lose you.”

 

“You won’t,” Alice assured her, her fingers pressing a little more firmly on Robin’s cheek, an anchor to secure her to the moment. “I’m here. I’m with you,” Alice said, pressing up to place small kisses along Robin’s jawline.

 

Robin tilted her head back to give her slightly better access, her eyes fluttering closed.

 

“I’m not going anywhere.” She placed slower kisses down Robin’s throat and felt a deep, shuddering sigh wrack through her body. “Ever.”

 

Robin’s eyes opened and she looked down at Alice once more. “Show me.”

 

In one smooth move, Alice flipped them, kissing Robin deeply. She trailed her fingers down over Robin’s shoulder, across her breast, pausing to roll Robin’s nipple between her finger and thumb as she nibbled at Robin’s bottom lip. Her hand traveled on down, feeling her stomach muscles move as Robin breathed in deep breaths. Her lips placed slow kisses across her jaw to her ear, sucking Robin’s earlobe into her mouth before releasing it as her fingers traced swirling shapes over Robin’s stomach and side. She felt Robin shiver as Alice repositioned herself a little, kissing down Robin’s throat, pausing to suck at her pulse point for a moment as her fingers ghosted over Robin’s upper thigh.

 

Every movement, every response from Robin made Alice feel renewed and recharged. Every caress made her fall more deeply. Every moan made the heat pool low in her gut even more. She wanted Robin so deeply, not just with her body, but with her very soul.

 

“Alice,” Robin whined, her hips canting up.

 

Alice realized that she’d let her fingers linger just on Robin’s inner thigh, tracing a circle pattern there. She slid her fingers up and felt the wetness that greeted her there, her breath hitching in her throat.

 

Robin let out a whimper as Alice dipped a finger into her folds, tentatively at first, and then a little deeper. Robin’s hips rocked up to meet her again, and Alice melted into her.

 

She placed sloppy kisses against Robin’s chest and breasts, needing to feel more of her, wanting to touch all of her at once with all of her body. She dipped two fingers into Robin, running them up through her folds as an excited shiver ran through her body. _She_ had done this to Robin. _She_ had made her this wet.

 

“More,” Robin gasped arching up as Alice’s lips closed around her nipple.

 

Alice felt Robin’s hand tangle in her hair as she slid two fingers slowly inside of her. She kissed back up to Robin’s mouth as she pulled them back out, just as slowly.

 

Robin squirmed beneath her, her kisses sloppy, her breath hot on Alice’s lips. Alice thrust in a little faster this time and brushed her thumb over Robin’s clit. Robin gasped into her mouth, bucking up into the touch.

 

Alice grinned, pulling back just enough to watch Robin’s eyes flutter shut, lips parted in a silent moan as Alice thrust in again, her thumb sliding over her clit with a little more pressure.

 

“Kiss me,” Robin gasped as Alice slid her fingers in again and again, finding a rhythm with her thrusts and her thumb on Robin’s clit.

 

How could Alice say no? She kissed her hard and deep, relishing in the way that Robin clutched at her shoulder blade, nails digging in just slightly, basking in the small pants that escaped her lips between kisses.

 

She thrust in again and curled her fingers up and was rewarded with a throaty groan from Robin. She kept up her pace, curling inside of Robin over and over, feeling Robin begin to clench around her fingers.

 

“Fuuuck,” Robin moaned into Alice’s mouth, low and drawn out.

 

Alice could feel the sound vibrate through her body and it sent a shiver of excitement through her. Robin was close. Alice didn’t need her to tell her. She could read it in her body - in the way her legs began to quiver, in the way her breathing was becoming shallower, in the tension of the muscles of her stomach pressed against her skin.

 

Robin arched into her and Alice moved with her, skin on skin, breath on breath, each movement matched.

 

Alice kissed and sucked at the base of Robin’s throat, unable to focus on careful kisses. She was unable to focus on anything but the feel of Robin beneath her, the taste of the thin sheen of sweat on her skin, the walls of her pussy tightening around her fingers. Alice was consumed by sensations and each response from Robin made her fall deeper.

 

“Alice,” Robin whimpered as Alice thrust in deeper, burying her fingers inside of Robin and curling them up to hit the spot that made Robin’s whole body shiver.

 

“I’m right here,” Alice reassured her in her ear, her own voice breathy.

 

She felt Robin’s whole body begin to tremble and she thrust again, moving her body with it for added friction.

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Alice murmured with a kiss against her jaw.

 

She felt Robin tip over the edge, her pussy clenching around her fingers over and over, and she opened her eyes to watch Robin unravel.

 

Robin’s eyes were closed tightly, her mouth parted in a silent ‘o’, her head tilted back, her skin flushed a beautiful shade of pink. She was stunning.

 

Robin’s eyes blinked open as she began to come down, and the intensity of her gaze made Alice’s heart skip a beat. It promised things she dare not put words to.

 

Alice slowed her thrusts, easing back on them as Robin came down from her orgasm. She stayed inside her, moving gently, until the clenching of Robin’s pussy had relaxed.

  
She shifted her weight on Robin as she slid her fingers out, grinning at the wetness on them. She was aware of Robin’s eyes focused intently on her as she brought her fingers to her mouth and tasted them...tasted _Robin_. Her eyes fluttered closed as she savored the intoxicating taste, silently promising herself that before the night was through she’d get to taste more.

 

Right now, though…

 

Right now, Robin was humming a contented little sigh, a smirk spreading across her lips and a hungry look in her eyes.

 

Right now, it was time for Alice to relinquish control.

 

Alice kissed Robin deeply, shivering in excitement at the thought that Robin would be able to taste herself on her lips. Robin wrapped a strong arm around her waist and flipped them easily. She kissed Alice again, then pulled away and looked down at her, her tongue darting out to lick her lips in a way that made Alice’s pussy spasm.

 

“You’re amazing,” Robin breathed, then she pressed down for a fierce kiss that left Alice breathless.  

 

Robin kissed across to her ear and added, “And I’m going to make you swear like you never have before.”

 

Alice chuckled as Robin kissed her way down her throat. “Sweetheart, I’m a pirate.”

 

Robin paused to look up at her with a wolfish grin. “I know.”

 

Alice’s breath hitched as Robin’s teeth scraped over her shoulder and her hands traced up her sides. She felt Robin’s tongue slide against her skin, flicking at her collarbone, leaving a wet trail that chilled in the air.

 

Robin’s fingers trailed over her hips as her lips left a path of kisses burning their way across Alice’s chest. Robin paused in her descent to lavish some attention first on one breast and then the other, mouth hot and tongue providing the perfect pressure against her hardened nipples.

 

Alice gasped at the pinch of teeth around her nipple, arching into the hint of pain that promised with it so much pleasure. Robin repeated the action on her other nipple, and the word “fuck” fell from Alice’s lips.

 

Robin chuckled as she kissed the underside of Alice’s breast, the vibration flowing through her skin and straight to her pussy.

 

“Just the start,” Robin told her in between slow, wet kisses across her stomach.

 

Robin’s hands slid down over Alice’s thighs and ghosted back up the insides of them, spreading her legs further apart. Alice did her best to bite back a whimper when Robin’s fingers stopped short of where she so desperately wanted them.

 

She felt more than heard the snort of amusement against her skin as Robin’s tongue traced a circle around her belly button.

 

Alice bucked up her hips, just a little, to encourage Robin in the right direction. The anticipation that was building had made her soaking wet, and she was starting to think that she might implode from the heat.

 

Robins fingers traced over the curves of her hips as her lips pressed kisses along the crease of her leg. Alice canted her hips up, needing more contact, needing more of Robin.

 

Robin kissed lower still, then paused, just for a moment, before placing a wet kiss directly on Alice’s clit. Alice bucked into the touch.

 

“Holy fuuuck,” she moaned as Robin flicked her tongue across the sensitive nub.

 

She felt Robin smile, just for a moment, and then Robin’s tongue was running through her folds.

 

Alice’s hands reached out in either direction, reaching for purchase, but finding none.

 

Robin’s tongue slid through her folds again, deeper this time, as she settled herself between Alice’s legs. Her hands pressed firmly against her stomach, holding her in place as she tried to arch off the bed again.

 

“Goddamn-” Alice gasped as Robin’s tongue probed deeper, licking long, slow, deliberate strokes through her. The end of her swear faded on her lips when the flat of Robin’s tongue brushed firmly over her clit.

 

Her fists twisted in the sheets, curling them around her wrists, anchoring her to the bed, to the reality of the moment - a reminder that this was real, this was happening.

 

Robin shifted one hand lower so that she could rub gentle circles around Alice’s clit as her tongue focused on exploring her folds. Alice could already feel the heat building, a tickle curling inside her, intensity growing.

 

“Fuck, more, please!” Alice coaxed, and Robin happily complied, her tongue finding a rhythm with a firm pressure, her thumb rubbing a little harder.

 

Alice’s eyes fluttered closed and her back arched off the bed. She felt heat overtaking her and one thought consuming her: _Robin_.

 

Robin was touching her. Robin was caressing her. It was Robin’s tongue that was unraveling her stroke by stroke.

 

Her fists tightened their hold on the sheets as Robin’s hair tickled her thighs and Robin’s fingers slid along her stomach and up to pinch her nipple, just a little.

 

Robin was everywhere, every touch driving her closer to the edge, every movement felt though Alice’s whole body. She wanted more. No, she _needed_ more. More of everything.

 

Robin’s fingers pinched her nipple again, a little harder this time, as the thumb of her other hand rubbed more deliberately over her clit, and her tongue continued its rhythm inside her, each stroke driving Alice a little bit crazier.

 

“Fuck! Robin!” she whimpered. “Fucking, just- I- Fuck!”

 

Robin’s hand slid off of her chest and reached across the bed towards her hand. Alice struggled to free hers from the sheets as Robin’s tongue slid up through her folds and up over her clit.

Robin shifted to better reach for Alice’s hand, and Alice’s fingers curled around hers, gripping them tightly. Robin had her. She was there with her. Alice trusted her completely and any second now she was going to give herself over to her so completely there would be no coming back.

 

Robin sucked her clit into her mouth, applying firm flicks of her tongue as she did so, and she slid two fingers deep inside of Alice and curled them up.

 

Alice’s whole body shuddered as she hit just the right spot, and she squeezed Robin’s hand even tighter.

 

“Fuck, I’m going to-” Alice warned as Robin thrust in again and again, her pace fast and her touch firm.

 

“I know,” she heard Robin gasp before her lips closed hotly around her clit once more.

 

That was all it took. Alice tumbled, head over heels, blissfully over the edge. Her whole body shook and her legs trembled as she clenched around Robin’s fingers. Each slight adjustment of Robin’s fingers inside her spurring a fresh wave of ecstasy that consumed her.

 

Robin eased her pace, but still Alice felt euphoric wave after wave flood over her body, her mind turning to mush.

 

She breathed out a shaky sigh as Robin slid her fingers out and licked them off. Her body began to ease back into the bed as Robin kissed her way gently back up her body, still holding her hand.

 

Alice captured her lips for a long, lingering kiss, the moment she was close enough. She could taste herself there and the knowledge sent another spasm through her pussy as her tongue caressed Robin’s.

 

“Well, fuck,” Alice said breathlessly, with a grin when they broke apart.

 

Robin grinned down at her, her green eyes still hooded, strands of mousy blonde hair plastered to the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead, haloed by the soft lights of the cabin.

 

Just the sight of her took Alice’s breath away. She felt the words, ‘I love you,’ threatening to fall off the tip of her tongue and she bit them back, swallowing them down, not quite ready to let them slip out despite what had just transpired.

 

She did love her, though. With her heart and her body and her soul. For tonight, she’d settle for showing her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> robin and alice you both are cowards and need to say i love you, you giant chickens
> 
> SHOUT OUT TO LIZ FOR WRITING THE ENTIRETY OF THE SMUT. SEND YOUR LOVE AND AFFECTIONS DIRECTLY TO HER FOREVER AND TIL THE END OF TIME.


	18. A Day of Relaxation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice gets restless during her day of rest, Kaia and Ruby are the best kind of friends, and Robin makes a big change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i make up for the longer wait between chapters with larger chapters. it's not exactly 12k but it's pretty long.

Alice could get used to not waking up alone in her bed. 

 

Her body still ached this time around, but it was a delicious, pleasant soreness. Her body woke up before her mind, her brain taking its sweet time to adjust to the early morning sunlight and the feeling of Robin’s warm skin brushing hers as she shifted in her arms. They were wrapped up in each other more thoroughly than the last time they’d woken up together: Alice’s head tucked underneath Robin’s chin, her arms around Robin as much as Robin’s were around her, and their legs tangled so much it was impossible to determine whose was whose. 

 

With such a prime opportunity, it was impossible to resist the urge to kiss the base of Robin’s throat to wake her up. Alice could hardly be blamed. It was  _ right there. _

 

“Mmmm,” she felt the hum against her lips as the kisses stirred her awake.

 

“Good morning,” Alice said, brushing her lips against a dark mark she had made on Robin’s throat the night before and taking a certain amount of pride in the shiver it elicited. 

 

“A very good morning, yeah.” Robin slid her hand up Alice’s back to tangle in her hair and nuzzled more comfortably into the pillow. “Bit early.” 

 

“Robin Mills, are you not a morning person?” Alice laughed. She continued to laugh at the groan that was her only answer. “Can I tempt you into waking up?” Alice nudged her nose along Robin’s jawline and pressed a kiss underneath her chin. 

 

Robin lifted her head slightly to give her better access. “You can,” she said. She used the hand in Alice’s hair to gently pull her away from the attention she was lavishing on Robin’s throat and bring her up for a good morning kiss. 

 

The joy radiating from every part of her meant she was smiling too hard to hold it for long, but she liked the hum Robin made against her lips: half sleepy and half content. When she pulled away, clear green eyes - the color of a brilliant tropical sea - blinked open to stare at her, and Alice would happily drown. 

 

“We shouldn’t start something we can’t finish,” Alice said. She could hear the sounds of the men both above them and in the cabin space belowdecks. 

 

“I can be quiet,” Robin whispered as if she was trying to prove that. 

 

Alice raised her eyebrows skeptically. 

 

“I can!” Robin’s happy smile morphed into a sly smirk. “You were the one making all the noise.” 

 

Alice untangled her arm from behind Robin so she could grab one of her spare pillows and smack Robin in the face with it. Robin spluttered out a laugh around the fabric. Alice untangled the rest of their limbs to roll out of bed and Robin whined. 

 

“If I was, that was only because you promised to make me swear,” she said. She rummaged around in her drawers for clothes. 

 

She didn’t have to be facing Robin to hear the smugness in her voice when she answered, “And I did. A lot.” 

 

Alice paused in the act of lacing up her pants to look over. Robin had her chin on her crossed arms and was gazing at her, eyes roving up and down Alice’s body in a look that was heated and warm in equal measures. It made Alice tingle all over. She cleared her throat. “I recall returning the favor.” 

 

“Care to do it again?” She grabbed at the loose fabric of Alice’s pants and tugged.

 

It took no effort whatsoever to coax Alice closer to the bed and Robin lifted her face expectantly. Alice kissed her again, deeper this time, and allowed herself to sink into the feeling of Robin dipping her fingers below the hem of her pants to trace below her bellybutton. Her lips parted and Robin’s tongue darted out to graze at her lower lip. Alice ran her hand down Robin’s bare side, dragging the covers down with her, to curl her fingers over the point of her hip. 

 

A deep, ringing bell sounded - once, twice, three times. Robin whined again when Alice pulled away from the kiss. 

 

“Fuck,” Alice said. 

 

“It was going there, I think,” Robin muttered back.

 

“Not what I meant,” Alice kissed Robin quickly as she stood up straight again. “That was last call for breakfast. I didn’t realize it was that late already. We should go get something to eat.”

 

“I can think of plenty of things to eat,” Robin suggested with grin that was just a touch too innocent. 

 

“Yes, but eventually someone is going to come looking for us. I don’t think ‘we were having a private breakfast’ is going to cut it as an explanation.” She smiled at the pitiful look Robin leveled at her. “I thought we were trying to  _ not  _ be conspicuous?”

 

“I’ve rethought my position.” She flopped backwards dramatically when Alice did nothing but throw her pants to her. “Fine,” she said, laying her arm over her eyes. “Be smart and lovely and right, I guess.” 

 

Alice giggled and pulled on her shirt. Robin stood up to start getting dressed, grumbling the whole time, but the way she kept glancing over to make sure Alice was still laughing gave away her act. 

 

She blatantly stared as Robin rummaged around the room for her clothes, relishing the freedom she now had to enjoy the view. “Do you have a shirt with a higher collar?” she asked. 

 

Robin paused in her search for her shirt from last night to glance curiously at her. “One or two, maybe. Why?” 

 

Alice touched Robin's neck and brushed her thumb over one of the...not-inconspicuous dark marks there. “If you don’t, you might want to borrow one of mine,” she gave Robin a sheepish grin. 

 

“Yes, because wearing your shirt isn’t suspicious in the least,” Robin deadpanned. She touched her neck where Alice had brushed and scrunched her nose up at her. “Vampire,” she accused fondly. 

 

“I could probably heal them?” Alice offered. She reached over to touch Robin’s neck again, fingertips tingling with magic. 

 

Robin gently smacked her hands away. “No magic!” she scolded, her momentary frown turning back into a grin when Alice redirected her hands to tickle along her collarbone instead. 

 

“Fine, wear them as badges of honor,” Alice said. “But don’t complain to me when your mom asks where they came from.” 

 

Robin made a face at that and nodded to herself. “Be right back,” she said. She kissed the side of Alice’s head on her way past as she left the room. Alice finished getting dressed and a knock sounded on her door just as she was tying off her boots. She swung open the door and Robin grinned at her, high collar of her button-up shirt done nearly to the top. She held her arm to Alice. “Your escort to breakfast, ma’am,” she said with a bow. 

 

Alice rolled her eyes and hooked her arm though Robin’s. “You’re ridiculous.” 

 

“Thank you.” 

 

The galley was nearly empty by the time they arrived. A few men were scattered around the tables and benches that had at some point been dragged back downstairs (and how had they slept through the noise of  _ that  _ happening). Cookie was still standing at his station and stirring a pot. He grinned at Alice as they approached, his missing-tooth grin that he always threw her way, as he piled her plate high with fruits, toasted bread with the marmalade she liked, and a heaping bowl of porridge. He winked at Robin as he handed her the same. Both of them had a little bowl of orange-brown dust on their plate as well. Alice raised an eyebrow in a question. 

 

“Cinnamon,” he said with another grin. 

 

“Are you digging into Papa’s spice supply?” Alice asked him slyly. 

 

He just winked at them both again and went back to cleaning up, whistling idly between his teeth. Robin shook her head with a smile. 

 

“What?” Alice asked. 

 

“They spoil you so much,” Robin said. 

 

“So you don’t want any of the cinnamon, then? I’ll have yours.” She giggled when Robin’s response was to stick her tongue out at her. 

 

Ruby and Kaia were sitting together at an isolated spot in the corner, close enough that their shoulders brushed and their heads were bent towards each other. Ruby’s ears practically perked up as they approached and she turned to greet them when they put their plates down. 

 

“ _ Good _ morning, you two,” she said with a knowing twinkle in her eye and an inflection on the word good that Alice was very suspicious of. 

 

She didn’t have time to be suspicious for long, because Kaia’s head popped up like a hound catching a scent, which was a metaphor she would have applied more to Ruby if not for the gleeful look her oldest friend gave her. “You two had se-” 

 

Alice launched herself across the table and slapped her hand over Kaia’s mouth. “Stop talking,” she ordered. 

 

Kaia shoved her hand away and grimaced. “Tell me you washed your hands,” she said. “I don’t know where they’ve been. Well - ” she threw a wicked smirk at Robin, “I do know where they’ve been.” 

 

“You don’t know anything,” Alice whispered fiercely at her. 

 

“I know you give as good as you get, and you probably got pretty good. Green-eyes kind of strikes me as a top.” 

 

Alice dropped her forehead onto the table and covered her head with her arm. “Kaia,” she said to the ground. “I’m begging you, for once in your life, to please shut up.” She looked up when Robin made a choked noise. She was red enough that it looked like her ears were about to pop off. 

 

“We didn’t - ” 

 

“Please, don’t look a werewolf who had to sit and listen to you guys for hours in the eyes and lie,” Ruby drawled. 

 

Robin’s eyes widened to the point they were in danger of falling out and she ducked nearly into her plate of food. “You didn’t have to listen,” she groaned. 

 

“You weren’t quiet!” 

 

Kaia scoffed. “Alice is never quiet.” 

 

Ruby laughed. Then her eyes narrowed suspicious as they darted between Alice and Kaia. “Wait a minute, have you two -”

 

“It was a long, long time ago,” Kaia patted her hand reassuringly. “But my point stands. I still want to know how it was. You’re practically glowing, so are we going to say mind-blowing or…” 

 

“Did you already know?” Ruby asked Robin. Kaia made an impatient noise at the interruption. 

 

Robin groaned and buried her face in her hands. “It’s been hinted at, yeah.”

 

“It’s why she doesn’t like me!” Kaia said cheerfully.

 

Robin ignored her. “Sorry about the,” she waved one hand in the air vaguely, “not being considerate of superwolf hearing thing.” 

 

“It’s fine. Eventually I got too distracted to notice,” Ruby shrugged. 

 

Alice watched Kaia drop her hand off the table and press it carefully into the small of Ruby’s back. Ruby leaned backwards into the touch. Alice dropped her spoon loudly into her nearly empty bowl. “Excuse me,” she said. “What exactly distracted you?” 

 

Ruby said nothing, but took a sudden interest in the wood of the ceiling. Alice looked at Kaia, who grinned unrepentantly at her. 

 

“Really?” Alice said, with a smirk. 

 

“Wait, what?” Robin asked. 

 

Alice leaned in close to Robin. “I don’t think we were the only ones who took advantage of everyone being distracted last night,” she murmured. 

 

Robin’s eyes went wide and she looked from Kaia to Ruby and back. Ruby raised an eyebrow and pretended to take great interest in her nails. Kaia slid her hand along Ruby’s arm and stilled her hand, and Ruby shot her a small smile. 

 

A smug grin spread across Robin’s face and Alice knew she’d connected the dots as well. “Oh, this is too good,” Robin declared. 

 

Kaia raised an eyebrow at her. “I like the high collar,” Kaia mimed buttoning up a shirt. “It’s a good look for you. Need any make-up this morning?” 

 

Robin swallowed the mouthful of porridge she’d just ate and scrunched her face up at Alice. “I take back everything I said about starting to like her.” 

 

Kaia patted her head and Robin ducked away from her. “I thought you’d be less cranky afterwards, honestly,” she said. “Or is the cranky just a part of your personality?” 

 

“Only with you,” Robin grumbled. 

 

“So,” Kaia’s eyes twinkled and she sat forward eagerly. “How was it? According to Ruby it sounded pretty good but Alice is always loud in bed so that doesn’t mean anything.” 

 

“Oh, it was definitely good. They were enjoying themselves _a lot_ ,” Ruby confirmed with a smirk. 

 

Alice slapped her hands firmly onto the table, catching the attention of everyone, including the few of the men still in the galley. She waved them away and focused on the people at her table instead. “Enough,” she said. She lowered her voice. “Yes, I slept with Robin. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, it’s going to be happening again. Now shush.” 

 

“Oh,” Kaia gave her a playful shudder, “That was all commanding. Yes ma’am, captain Alice.” 

 

“You don’t stop, do you,” Robin sighed. 

 

“I’ll stop when I’m dead, I’m sure.” 

 

“I’m  _ not  _ sure.” 

 

Alice rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. If this was how they showed affection, she could handle it. Especially if it took a little of the focus away from the activities she and Robin had gotten up to the night before. Although, she was definitely going to be questioning Kaia more thoroughly on her night with Ruby at some point when she could catch her alone. It had caught her a little off-guard. She could see how Ruby would be attractive to Kaia. It was rare that Kaia encountered someone as strong and strong-willed as herself and so far Ruby had shown herself to be both. Plus, she was pretty gorgeous. Not that she held a candle to Robin, but Ruby was more Kaia’s taste anyway. 

 

Alice noted the way Kaia’s hand fell to Ruby’s back as conversation continued around the table, and began to run a path up and down her spine. She noted the small shiver that ran through Ruby as Kaia leaned in a little closer, too, and the daring look she flitted in Kaia’s direction. There definitely seemed to be something more there than just physical attraction. Feelings could be trouble in Kaia’s line of work though, so she couldn’t help worrying if her friend had thought things through. 

 

“You okay?” Robin asked, leaning in close, her breath falling hot against Alice’s ear in a way that made Alice flash back to the night before. 

 

She nodded a little shakily. “Just thinking,” she replied. 

 

“If it’s about sex with Robin, then could you at least wait until we’re not at the table with you anymore?” Ruby requested. 

 

Alice narrowed her eyes at her and stuck out her tongue. “Speaking of sex, how was  _ your _ night because I don’t think we’ve teased the two of you  _ nearly _ enough!” 

 

Ruby stuck her tongue out back at her, and Kaia tugged on Ruby’s elbow as she stood. “You know, I think we have to go. Things to do. Wonderland to scrounge through. All of that. Love you! Do try to behave!”

 

Alice was left giggling as Kaia led Ruby quickly away. There were definitely feelings there. She hoped that wouldn’t get messy. 

 

“Us behave?” Robin huffed. “Them behave.”

 

“Fat chance,” Alice replied. “On both counts.”

 

“Heeeey,” Robin protested. 

 

“Do I need to remind you about your very tempting breakfast in bed suggestion?” Alice asked, lowering her voice to ensure that no one would overhear. 

 

Robin raised an eyebrow at her. “Any chance we could revisit that?” 

 

Alice was so very tempted, but she shook her head. For subtlety’s sake they would have to resist. For now, anyway. 

 

* * *

 

The person she was looking for was sitting on a pile of crates near the port side of the ship, with a sail across his lap that he was very carefully stitching together. He looked up and smiled as she approached. 

 

“Miss Alice! Good to see you awake.” 

 

“Hi, Randy.” Alice grinned at him. “I have a favor to ask.” 

 

“Sure,” he went back to making his precise stitches against the tough fabric of the sail, hooking the curved sewing needle underneath and pulling it through with little grunts of effort. “What can I do for you?” 

 

“Do you still have your tattooing tools?” she asked. 

 

He looked back up at her and frowned. “Your father would kill me,” he told her. 

 

Alice shook her head. “Not to use on me. Also, I’ll have you know, we’re way past that.” She laughed at the distressed look he gave her. “I’d just like to borrow them. I’d borrow Kaia’s but hers got destroyed in the tavern.” 

 

He sighed and moved the sail off his lap so he could stand up. “Aye, they’re down in my bunk. Give me five minutes to go get them and we never speak of this to your father.” He sighed again when Alice pretended to lock her lips together with a key. 

 

He disappeared below deck and came up a few minutes later with his bag of tools. He handed them over to her, and Alice could hear the clinking of the ink bottles inside. “Remember,” he said. 

 

“Don’t tell Papa and this never happened,” Alice nodded at him. “Got it. Thanks, Randy!” 

 

She heard another heavy sigh as she turned around and left to find Robin. She was having what looked like a serious conversation with Billy, so Alice sat herself nearby and waited patiently for them to be done. She blinked in surprise when they stood up and Billy went to go shake her hand but Robin pulled him into a brief hug. He nodded at Alice as he walked away. 

 

“What was that about?” she asked Robin as she approached. 

 

“Billy saved my life,” Robin said simply. “He saw Whale and Nottingham grab me and he ran to get help. If he hadn’t gotten to my mom and your dad in time…” Robin shrugged. 

 

Alice stomach knotted uncomfortably at even the thought. “Remind me to put him on nothing but easy jobs for the rest of his life,” Alice said around a tight throat. 

 

“Hey,” Robin stepped closer and put her hand on Alice’s shoulder. “I’m all right.” She looked around and dropped her voice lower. “Didn’t we spend a significant portion of last night confirming how all right I am?” 

 

Alice laughed and the tightness in her throat eased. “Yes,” she said. “Although I thought I was proving how all right I am.”

 

“That, too,” Robin agreed with a sly smile. 

 

Alice took a deep, steadying breath and let it out, then held up the kit in her hands. Robin looked at it curiously. “Remember when we were talking about tattoos?” 

 

Robin’s eyes lit up. “My mom would kill me,” she said gleefully. “Do you want to do it now, or…” 

 

“That line has so many different connotations, what exactly are you asking about?” Alice lifted her eyebrows. 

 

Robin gave her a look. “Do you want to tattoo me now. Anything else should...maybe wait until after my mom has taught you the muffle spell.” She brought her hand up like she was going to tug at the collar of her shirt and Alice grabbed it before she could reach that far. 

 

“Come on,” she said, tugging their joined hands together. She led Robin downstairs and back to her room, stopping to glare at Ruby when she wiggled her eyebrows at them as they walked by. 

 

She sat Robin in one of the chairs by the window, pushing the curtains open fully so that lots of bright light poured in. She put Randy’s kit down and handed Robin her sketchbook. “The last couple of pages were my ideas, I want your opinion,” she said. 

 

Her heart pounded just a bit as Robin opened the book. Drawing was always something she kept very close to her chest, and every picture she’d ever drawn felt like she’d left a little bit of herself on the page, so she was always nervous showing people her art. She didn’t know why she was nervous about Robin - except maybe that Robin’s reaction mattered more to her than anyone else’s ever had. 

 

Robin flipped to the back of the book and stopped on the series of arrows that Alice had sketched onto the last few pages. She smiled. “Arrows,” she said. 

 

“So you’ll always have one on you,” Alice smiled back. 

 

Robin went back to poring over the pictures for a moment before she tapped on one. It was one of the very last ones that Alice had designed, an arrow piercing through a compass. “Finding your way?” she asked quietly, and the words made the tattoo on her shoulder burn with remembering the conversation that had led to their first kiss. 

 

“I saw it as always hitting your mark,” Alice answered. “But maybe a little bit of that, too.” 

 

Robin continued to look through, but she kept coming back to that one, and Alice knew what her decision was going to be even before she said it. 

 

“All right,” Alice sat her closer to the window, and cleared the table beside the chair. “Where do you want it?” 

 

Robin’s eyes glinted with mischief and Alice smirked. “If you’re going to be making these jokes all day - ”

 

“Forearm, please,” Robin laid her right arm on the table, the one she used to draw back her arrows. “It makes the most sense.” 

 

Alice hesitated. “That will be impossible to hide from your mother. She really will kill you.” 

 

“I’ll have lived a good life,” Robin grinned. “Short, but good.” 

 

“Brat,” Alice mumbled at her as she opened the bottle of antiseptic and wiped Robin’s forearm down. “So you don’t get it infected,” Alice told her when she tilted her head in a question. 

 

“Is that a possibility?” Robin asked. She looked more curious than nervous. 

 

“I’m putting a bunch of teeny-tiny holes in your arm and filling them with ink,” Alice explained. “It’s better to be careful.” 

 

She pulled out the needles and ink and dipped the ends of the needles into the antiseptic as well. “Ready?” she asked. Robin nodded enthusiastically even as she braced herself. 

 

Robin was one of the most patient and quiet people Alice had ever tattooed. Alice knew the process was painful, but outside of a wince or two when she first started, Robin didn’t react much at all. (This might have been helped by the very tiny bit of magic Alice was putting into each downward prick of the needle, willing some of the pain away after she tapped in the ink and pulled the needle back.) The design was intricate, and it took several hours for Alice to draw from the arrowhead at the wrist to the feathers at the elbow, and the round compass it pierced in the middle. She was exceptionally proud when she was finished with it - just as the light she’d been using was starting to lessen, as the sun reached its zenith and began its descent towards the opposite side of the ship. If Alice had to guess, it was a few hours past noon. 

 

“Done,” she said as she finished the final end of the tiny N on the compass. Robin was staring at her arm with wonder and delight, and it made Alice’s heart expand in her chest. She rummaged in the toolkit for the jar of antiseptic cream that was there and spread it across the new, slightly red tattoo with gentle fingers. 

 

“That looks amazing,” Robin breathed out, even as she winced a little when Alice’s fingers brushed a sore point. 

 

Alice put the cream to the side and started to gently wrap the tattoo in white bandages. She laughed when Robin gave her a wounded look. “It’s just for a couple of hours,” she said. “We want it to heal properly. She tied off the bandage and kissed just above the end of the tattoo. She put a burst of healing magic through her lips as she brushed them against the sensitive skin of her arm. 

 

“There,” she sat back proudly, “now you’ll never run out of arrows.” 

 

“Am I a real pirate now?” Robin asked with a smirk. 

 

“Close,” Alice teased. “You’ve got the tattoo, we’ll get you a hat…” 

 

“I’ve got the pirate girlfriend,” Robin said. 

 

“I don’t think that’s actually something you need to have to qualify,” Alice laughed. 

 

“Better cover all my bases just in case.” Robin winked at her, and kept up her grin as Alice leaned over to kiss her. When they pulled away she was more serious, eyes somber as they flickered out the window towards the outline of Wonderland. “I know we were just supposed to keep you resting today,” she said. “But I was wondering if you wanted to go help later. You mentioned feeling restless…” 

 

“Yes,” Alice said before she could finish the sentence. “If you can sneak me off without my father knowing you’re doing it, I’d love to go help scavenge.” 

 

Robin smirked and drew herself up to her full height. “You’re asking if I can sneak you off?” she said with a confident smirk that sent tingles through her stomach. “Try and stop me.” 

 

* * *

 

Wonderland made her heart hurt. 

 

It was easy to ignore during the battle itself. There had been a lot more important things to be focusing on, like surviving and helping people. Now that the dust had settled she could see familiar landmarks had been broken down or destroyed entirely, she could see the wreckage in the harbor where ships had gone down, she could see empty spaces that used to be full of life. 

 

Robin squeezed her hand as she led her past the wreckage of the marketplace and towards the ruins of the tavern. Alice had insisted they stop by there first. She knew most of the workers were trying to salvage everything they could from the fire. 

 

“It would have been worse if you hadn’t stopped it when you did,” Robin told her. “You saved a lot of people that day.” 

 

“Then why does it still feel like I didn’t do enough?” Alice asked. Robin squeezed her hand again, thumb brushing comfortingly across her wrist. 

 

Onyx noticed them first. His face lit up when he saw them and he turned to excitedly hit the arm of the person next to him. Topaz looked up and smiled. She had the remnants of a cut across her cheek, and she limped a little when she walked, but she and Onyx hurried over. They pulled Alice into a hug the second they were close enough. 

 

“We heard you were up,” Onyx said as he let go. He had smudges of dirt across his forehead that he tried to wipe away, but the motion only spread the dirt farther. “It’s good to see you back up on your feet.” 

 

“We heard what you did,” Topaz said, gold eyes shining with a gratitude Alice didn’t feel like she deserved. “You guys saved the tavern. Well, mostly.” She turned sad eyes back to the blackened walls. 

 

“We’ll rebuild,” Onyx reminded her. 

 

“Robin and I came to help salvage,” Alice said. She sighed when they frowned at her. “I’m fine, and I’ll go slow so I don’t overexert myself.” 

 

“Actually, can I talk to you for a moment?” Topaz asked. 

 

“Sure,” Alice said. 

 

Topaz looked back and forth over her shoulder and motioned to a quiet corner. “Alone?” she added. 

 

Onyx gave her a concerned look but didn’t follow when she led them out of hearing distance of the group of people digging through the tavern. She brought Alice and Robin in close, and her voice was tight and strained as she leaned towards them. 

 

“Something happened before the battle,” she said quietly, casting another furtive glance around them that put Alice’s nerves on edge. “I didn’t even have time to do anything about it - everything happened so quickly, one minute I was noticing and the next the Navy was attacking and - ”

 

“Topaz,” Robin put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Slow down. What happened before the battle?” 

 

She took a deep breath and relaxed, nodding at Robin. “There was a woman,” she said when some of the tightness had left her body. “Just before the battle. Asking about the Jolly Roger.” 

 

“A woman?” Alice asked. 

 

Topaz nodded. “Well, not a woman,” she said. “A witch.” 

 

Robin dropped her hand immediately and looked over at Alice, then back at Topaz, her brow furrowed in a frown. “How do you know she was a witch?” 

 

“I got suspicious, when I heard her asking people about the Roger. And I’d never seen her before, not ever, and I pay attention to everybody, you know? So I followed her, and I saw her disappear into smoke. It was minutes before the attack started. I didn’t even have time to tell anybody.” 

 

Alice’s heart started to race with adrenaline at the thought. Gothel? Gothel was here? Or at least had been here. There was no telling if she had hung around during the battle. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Topaz said, her eyes welling with tears. “I should have told you sooner. I should have told somebody sooner. It was just - ”

 

“Nothing that happened was your fault,” Alice said firmly. She pulled her friend into another hug and Topaz clung to her shoulders, shaking. “Robin and I will take care of this, okay? You just go help with the tavern.” 

 

Topaz let her go and nodded, wiping her eyes and sniffling back the tears. Onyx put a concerned arm around her shoulders when she got to him and threw a questioning look at Alice, but Alice just shook her head at him. 

 

“A witch was here before the battle,” Robin said somberly. “Asking about the Roger. That can’t be a coincidence.” 

 

“It’s not,” Alice said. “Papa told me after I woke up that Whale used magic from Gothel to attack Wonderland. If there was a witch here, she was looking for me.” 

 

Robin rolled her shoulders back and her hand went to the bow she had strapped across her back. “All right,” she said. “If Gothel wants to make the first part of our job easy, she can come looking all she wants.” 

 

“Don’t say that,” Alice snapped. She swallowed down the lump in her throat that appeared at the mere thought of Robin going up against her mother. “You can’t face her alone.” 

 

“Hey,” Robin stepped close and cupped Alice’s cheek. “I’m not alone. I’ve got you.” 

 

Alice turned her face into Robin’s palm for just a moment before she tugged her hand down. “Do not be stupid and reckless going up against my mother,” she ordered sternly. 

 

“Isn’t stupid and reckless kind of a pirate’s job?” Robin asked. 

 

“You’re not - ” Alice sighed. “It is a pirate’s job,” she agreed. “But it’s not yours.” The hurt in Robin’s eyes when she said that...she had to turn and look at the ocean. “You’re not meant to be a pirate for the rest of your life, Robin. Eventually Gothel and Nottingham will be dead and you’ll -”

 

“Be right here,” Robin finished. Alice’s eyes snapped back to her. The hurt had washed away and been replaced with a stubborn determination that Alice had come to love and hate in equal measure. “I don’t want to leave.” 

 

“You don’t have to yet,” Alice said. 

 

“No, I don’t want to leave  _ ever _ ,” Robin insisted.  

 

The tightness in her throat returned, this time for an entirely different reason. “I don’t want you to leave either,” she said. 

 

“I’m a grown adult,” Robin said. She threw a look at the square full of people and tugged Alice farther backwards, around the corner of a half-destroyed wall and out of sight. “When all this is over, when Gothel and Nottingham are dead, I’ll get my mom to safety,” she said once they had their privacy. “And then I’ll come back and petition Captain Hook for a spot on his ship.” 

 

“You really mean that, don’t you?” Alice asked. 

 

Robin nodded, and in that moment Alice saw every piece of Robin that she’d fallen in love with. The stubbornness, the loyalty, the bravery, and the big, sometimes uncontrollable heart. Alice felt a warmth in her chest that spread to every part of her body, through her ribs, tingling up her arms and into her fingertips, sweeping to the top of her head. It felt like magic, even though she knew it wasn’t. It was just Robin.

 

“I love you,” Alice said. She wasn’t sure if she’d meant to say it or not, or if the emotions that had welled up were just too much to keep in, but the words fell out of her mouth as naturally as breathing. 

 

Robin blinked. For a few seconds she looked stunned and windswept, as if a strong breeze would blow her over, and then a smile broader and brighter than anything Alice had ever seen before lit up her face. Dimples deep, eyes sparkling, she said, “You love me?” 

 

All Alice could do was nod. She didn’t even finish the motion before Robin had swept her up in her arms and kissed her. Her lips were warm and insistent, her hands gentle as she pulled Alice closer to her. Alice felt the warmth travelling through her again, but this time it  _ was  _ magic. She was feeling too much to contain it inside herself. She could feel tiny sparks of magic darting off her skin as she pulled Robin deeper into the kiss. 

 

She could also feel a tingling along her skin that wasn’t her magic at all. It was distracting, the needling at the back of her neck, so distracting that she had to pull away from Robin to pay attention to it. It felt...it felt…

 

It felt like someone  _ else  _ using magic. 

 

“I’ve been looking for you,” a voice said behind them, sending a shiver of dread up Alice’s spine. 

 

She turned in Robin’s arms and swept her hand out behind her, letting loose a shockwave meant to knock the person behind them back several feet. The woman made a sharp cutting motion with her hand and the wave of magic redirected and blasted into the wall next to them with enough of an impact to rattle it and shower them with dust and small rocks. Alice lifted her hands, already pooling her magic into her palms, and then Robin caught her by the waist and pulled her backwards. She put herself in between Alice and the woman and lifted her bow, drawing an arrow lightning-fast as she pointed it at the intruder. 

 

“How about you lower that bow, Robin?” 

 

Alice saw Robin freeze mid-motion. 

 

“Aunt Regina?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to the tune of The Boys Are Back In Town* 
> 
> the plot is back in town, the plot is back in tOOOwwwWWNNN


	19. Checks and Balances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aunt Regina creates waves and a plan is hashed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm SO SORRY that it's been a month since this updated liz and i both got writer's block at the same time here's a nice long chapter remember we love you

Robin’s body seemed to know what do to even if her brain had no idea what was happening. Her bow dropped uselessly to her side, clenched in fingers still tight against the grip but no longer threatening. Her heart still pounded, her was adrenaline still pumping, and her nerves were jangled - she’d gone from  _ protect Alice  _ to  _ don’t shoot your aunt _ too quickly for her body to completely calm down yet. 

 

She hadn’t seen her aunt in the flesh for more than ten years - the fight between her aunt and her mother left them estranged for a while during her childhood, and after that it was the difficulties of living on different continents. Seeing her face not in a mirror or as a message in smoke was different. She looked older, with deeper lines around her eyes and the corners of her mouth. As usual, Aunt Regina was dressed impeccably. It was a jarring contrast to her surroundings: a dark maroon dress with a sweeping neckline highlighted by the metallic tie around her neck made it look more like she walking into a palace receiving hall than the aftermath of a battlefield. She was eyeing Robin and Alice curiously, her head tilted slightly. 

 

Robin closed her slack jaw with a click. “What are you doing here?” she asked. The first in a list of hundreds of questions floating through her mind. 

 

Her aunt sighed in dramatic disappointment. “That’s the greeting I get?” she asked. “No ‘Hi, Aunt Regina’? No, ‘I’m sorry for worrying you, Aunt Regina’? No, ‘this is…’” She jerked her chin at Alice significantly. 

 

Robin flushed and glanced over her shoulder. Alice had lowered her hands but her eyes kept jumping back and forth between Robin and her aunt. She didn’t seem to know if there was still a threat or not. Robin reached back to grab Alice’s hand and tug her forward. “This is my girlfriend Alice, Aunt Regina,” Robin finished the sentence. 

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Alice,” her aunt smiled and the motion tugged at the scar above her lip. “Nice reflexes.” 

 

Alice cleared her throat. “I thought you were going to attack us,” she said in a small voice. 

 

“Like I said, nice reflexes,” her aunt went to pat Alice on the arm and stopped. Her hand hovered uncertainly and her lips flattened into a thinner line. Robin felt the sudden urge to put herself between them again. “Quite an aura you have there,” her aunt said. “My sister’s been teaching you?” 

 

“Part of our deal with the captain,” Robin said absently, still staring hard at her aunt. “Lessons for free passage.” 

 

“Yes,” her aunt finally looked from Alice to Robin, perceptive and intelligent dark brown eyes pinning her where she stood. Aunt Regina always had a way of making you freeze that had nothing to do with her magic. “What in the world have you two been up to?” 

 

Robin tried to relax her shoulders but the look her aunt was giving her made her feel like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “What do you mean?” 

 

“What do I mean?” She raised an eyebrow at Robin. “All I get is a desperate message from your mother that you’ve had to run. She killed a magehunter?” 

 

“He was going to kill Robin and Zelena!” Alice said defensively. Robin squeezed her hand and smiled at her. 

 

Her aunt waved her hand as if she was waving away the words, “It doesn’t matter. Next message I get says you’ve found safe passage and are coming to seek asylum in the White Kingdom and to meet at the neutral port just outside their border.  _ Then _ ,” she pointed a finger sternly at Robin, who winced, “I get another one a month and a half later, stating if you didn’t show up in the next two months to come looking at these coordinates for a boat called the Jolly Roger.  _ And then _ ,” this time the finger point was accompanied by a spark of purple magic that nudged Robin in the shoulder as firmly as if she’d been poked, “I get a final message that says: Joined pirates, will be late.’” 

 

Robin heard Alice cough and it sounded suspiciously like she was suppressing a giggle.

 

Her aunt crossed her arms. “You left home to come seek asylum and wound up joining a pirate crew. I hope you can explain the leap of logic between those two events.” 

 

Robin cleared her throat. “How’s Aunt Emma?” she asked instead. 

 

“She’s fine. Don’t think you can avoid the question.” 

 

Someone raised their voice and a few heavy thuds sounded from where a group of pirates was salvaging the ruined marketplace. Robin was sudden vividly reminded that they were still very much in a public place where people could overhear. Her aunt would want the whole story, and to tell every part required more privacy. 

 

“I’m not avoiding the question,” she sighed. She nodded back the way they came. “It’s a long story, and we’d tell it better on the ship. It’d be safer, too.” 

 

“On the ship full of pirates?” Her aunt asked. 

 

“Hey,” Alice protested. 

 

She’d been mostly quiet during the exchange with her aunt - either to give them time to catch up or because of her surprise, Robin wasn’t sure. But the exclamation brought their attention to her and Robin frowned immediately. She didn’t like how pale Alice was, or the beads of sweat across her brow that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the heat. As they looked at her she swayed slightly and Robin lurched forward to steady her, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her close. 

 

“I’m okay,” Alice said into her shoulder. The way she leaned heavily into Robin gave away her lie. 

 

Robin pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. It was clammy. Her worry increased. “No you’re not.”

 

“I can walk.” Alice leaned away and took a small, quick step forward. She swayed again and Robin caught her. She threw a worried, frantic look over her shoulder at her aunt. 

 

Aunt Regina stepped in and placed a steadying hand on Alice’s shoulder. “Oh, here. Been overdoing it on the magic?” The hand on Alice’s shoulder started to glow a steady purple.

 

Alice gaped at her. “How did you-?”

 

“I  _ am _ a witch, dear.” The smirk she gave them was half-hearted, her eyes calculating in a way Robin recognized from her mom. Dark brown eyes flickered between her own glowing hand and Alice’s face. 

 

“She saved Wonderland,” Robin said, in an effort to distract. 

 

“I tried. Didn’t really succeed, since it still has to move.” Her face went another shade paler, if that was possible.     
  


Robin ducked a little so she could pull Alice’s arm around her shoulders for support. Her aunt quickly grabbed her other arm and they started to walk slowly back to the ship. Robin used her free hand to wave off Topaz and Onyx when they started to walk over, concerned.  

 

With Alice’s arm around her shoulder but the majority of her weight being held by Robin, her Aunt Regina kept her glowing hand pressed against Alice. A few minutes into the walk back to the Roger and she pulled them to a stop. The frown she gave them was partly a pout. “That’s not helping at all?” she asked, eyebrows furrowed together in concern and consternation. 

 

“You can stop,” Alice told her. “I’ll be all right after I rest for a bit.” She looked a little better - the influx of Aunt Regina’s magic had put some more color in her cheeks - but she still looked unsteady on her feet. 

 

Robin shrugged Alice’s arm off her and stepped in front of her. “Ok,” she said. “Up.” 

 

“Really?” Alice drawled, and Robin didn’t have to turn around to feel the look Alice was giving her. “A piggy-back ride?” 

 

“Your dad is already going to kill me for sneaking you off the ship,” Robin told her. “The least I can do is get you back in one piece. C’mon,” she looked over her shoulder at Alice and wiggled her eyebrows, “it’ll be fun.” 

 

“Hmmm, you’ve said that to me before.” 

 

Robin blushed and her aunt, always too perceptive for her own good, snorted a laugh. She laughed again when Alice leapt onto Robin’s back without warning. Robin grunted and hooked her arms behind Alice’s legs to hold her in place. 

 

Alice looped an arm around Robin’s neck and leaned her cheek against the top of her head. “Onward, noble steed,” she said.  

 

Robin’s brain immediately supplied a joke that she had to bite her lip to keep from blurting out in front of her aunt. The sudden reappearance of her blush must have tipped her off though, because her aunt rolled her eyes at her. 

 

They passed a group of pirates that were salvaging any bits of wood that weren’t completely destroyed from a house. A few of them were Jolly Roger pirates, who laughed and waved cheerfully when they saw Alice and Robin. 

 

“You said this place was moving?” her aunt asked. 

 

“Rebuilding elsewhere,” she answered. Her arm tightened a little around Robin’s neck, but not uncomfortably so. “No choice. It’s not safe from the Duke’s navy anymore.”

 

“They want Mom, too.” Robin said in a low voice. 

 

Her aunt scowled. “Well, then I guess we have a common enemy.” 

 

* * *

 

They were spotted long before they got to the Jolly Roger. While it was unlikely that Nottingham would be coming back in full force after he was run off with his tail between his legs, everyone was still on high alert, and whoever was in the crow’s nest had obviously alerted the ship to their arrival. 

 

Robin continued to carry Alice as they stepped off the beach and onto the ramp leading up to the ship. They were let through unobstructed, but the pirate guarding the gangplank reached out a hand to stop her aunt before her foot left the sand. His hand stopped mid-air, possibly because the look Robin’s aunt was giving him was making him rethink every decision in his life that led to this moment. 

 

“She’s with us,” Robin told him. 

 

He looked dubiously at them but stepped aside to let her follow him. The pause was enough time for word of their arrival to reach the captain. Hook was decidedly not amused. 

 

“Another stray?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“Excuse me?” her aunt snapped at him.  

 

Robin bent her knees so Alice could slide off her back. A wave of relief washed through her when she stood on the deck of the Roger without a hint of unsteadiness. “She’s my aunt,” she told Hook. 

 

Hook sighed. “That’s not better.” 

 

“And a powerful witch,” Alice added. 

 

“We’re all full up on those,” Hook said. “We don’t need another.” 

 

“She can help,” Robin said. 

 

“She can also sink your ship,” Regina pointed out with a smile that was distinctly lacking in warmth. “Especially if you call her a stray again.” 

 

“In his defense, the last person we brought on board could technically be considered a stray,” Robin said. 

 

“I can  _ hear  _ you,” Ruby’s voice called from somewhere near the bow of the ship.

 

“Welcome aboard,” Hook replied, with a smile that matched Regina’s and wary eyes. 

 

“She really can help, Papa,” Alice said, moving to her father and putting a comforting hand on his arm. 

 

Hook took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the sigh of a man who recognized when all control of the situation was well and truly lost. “Billy,” he snapped, and the young man in question immediately jumped a foot in the air, “go get Zelena, if you would.” 

 

“She’s already here,” Robin’s mother appeared at the top of the steps to the galley below. “What in the world - Regina?” Her eyes widened and she hurried her steps to reach them and throw her arms around her sister. She let go with an incredulous laugh. “What are you doing here?” 

 

Aunt Regina raised an imperious eyebrow. “Responding to your message.” 

 

“You sent a message to your sister?” Hook asked. His eyebrows furrowed together in a frown. “When? How?” 

 

“With magic,” her mother said dryly, “the minute those cuffs you had me in were off.” 

 

“He had you cuffed?” Robin saw her Aunt Regina’s fist clench, saw the wisps of purple that started to spark around her fingertips. 

 

“Whoa!” Robin darted forward and put her hand on her aunt’s shoulder. “Everything’s fine now. We’re all friends here.” 

 

“Hmmm,” her aunt hummed, seemingly unconvinced, but the purple sparks went away. When she slid her eyes from Alice to Robin, her anger melted into a wicked glint. “Yes, friends.” 

 

Robin squeezed tighter in warning. 

 

“Captain Hook,” her Aunt Regina said, suddenly cheerful. “Might I have some time alone with my sister?” 

 

“Aye,” Hook drew out the syllable, as confused as Robin at the sudden turnaround in tone. His eyes kept darting to her aunt’s now-relaxed hand like it was going to light up again. “She’s got a room down below.” 

 

“Excellent, thank you,” she turned sharply and grabbed Robin’s mother by the shoulder, pushing her until she started to lead them both down the stairs. 

 

Robin narrowed her eyes at their backs. “I don’t like this,” she said. 

 

“Neither do I!” Hook burst out. He threw his hand up in the air when they turned to look at him. “But apparently I don’t get a say on my own bloody ship anymore.” 

 

Alice patted his shoulder. The motion was probably meant to placate him. He didn’t look placated. Instead, he turned and pinned a glare on his daughter. “What?” Alice asked. 

 

“You were supposed to be resting,” he said. “And yet you were off the ship long enough to collect Robin’s aunt.” 

 

“She kind of collected us, actually,” Robin said. She cleared her throat awkwardly when Hook turned his glare on her instead. 

 

“You’re on thin ice, little bird,” he said with a hint of warning. 

 

Alice's faced softened at the nickname and a smile darted across her features in spite of the scolding. “Papa,” Alice pat his shoulder again. “I’m  _ fine _ . We’ll talk more about this later.” 

 

Hook sighed again. “The last time you said that we ended up with Robin.” 

 

* * *

 

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Kaia whispered. 

 

Robin and Alice, after they’d narrowly escaped a lecture from Hook about disobeying direct orders, had made their way downstairs. Robin had tried the door to her mother’s room and found it locked. With her lockpicks somewhere inside they’d been forced to post themselves at the end of the hall and spy on the door from afar. Kaia and Ruby had joined them sitting against the wall at some point. 

 

“No clue.” Robin glanced over at Ruby, who shrugged. 

 

“Can’t hear a thing,” she said. “Hallway reeks of magic, though. She probably put some sort muffle spell on the walls.” 

 

“Can she teach Alice that trick,” Kaia said under her breath. She yelped when Alice pinched her. 

 

“So what does your aunt do?” Ruby asked, ignoring the way Alice and Kaia were now gently hitting each other. 

 

“I’m not sure,” Robin said. She flushed when three sets of incredulous eyes looked at her. “Political stuff, I don’t know! She’s got influence and spends a lot of time in an office. I’ve never really asked.” 

 

“Influence, like...she has a title?” Kaia asked. “Or like she knows a lot of influential people?”

 

“Kind of both.” Robin shrugged. “She’s married to my Aunt Emma, and Aunt Emma is a princess, so…” 

 

“I’m sorry, your aunt is a  _ princess? _  Why would you say that like it’s not the most important part of that sentence?” Ruby gaped at her. 

 

“Because it’s not,” Robin insisted. “She’s not going to take the throne. She says she hates the thought of ruling. When her parents step down her and Aunt Regina’s son Henry is going to be king.” 

 

“Their son Henry, who is your cousin.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Your aunt is married to a princess, your cousin is going to be king of one of the most influential countries on the Enchanted Forest continent, and exactly none of that was worth mentioning until now?” Kaia asked. 

 

Alice grinned, a sharp flash of white teeth, and she winked at Robin. “Wait until I tell you about the conversation we had on our first date.” 

 

All four heads turned to look at the stairs as a pair of boots thumped loudly down them. Hook didn’t even look surprised to see the four of them sitting there.

 

“Why is it that whenever there’s trouble you’re not far away?” he asked. 

 

“Honestly, I’ve been asking myself that for two months,” Robin said. 

 

The answer pulled a smile out of him even as he rolled his eyes. “I got a creepy little magic whisper in my ear telling me to come down to Zelena’s room to join the discussion. Would any of you like to come with me?” he asked. 

 

They all stood up, but Kaia shook her head and tugged at Ruby’s arm. “As fascinating as that sounds, I think we’ll hear about it from Alice and Robin later. You two go have fun.” 

 

“Thanks, Kaia,” Robin drawled. Kaia wiggled her fingers at them in a sarcastic wave goodbye as she led Ruby away. 

 

Hook raised an eyebrow at them. He glanced at Alice and Robin. “Is something going on between those two?” he asked. 

 

Alice groaned. “Please don’t even ask that,” she said. 

 

They were interrupted by the door to her mom’s room opening. “Are you three going to keep us waiting forever?” her Aunt Regina asked, poking her head out. 

 

“I didn’t realize we were invited,” Robin shot back. “Considering you left us on the outside of the door like children.” 

 

“Yes, and the way you’re pouting convinces me you’re no longer a child,” her aunt rolled her eyes and stepped back to open the door wider to let them in. “Come give your side of the absolutely fascinating story your mother was just catching me up on. Captain,” she greeted Hook with a nod as they slipped in behind him.  

 

“Your Highness,” he nodded back. Aunt Regina’s eyebrows shot up. 

 

“You heard that?” Alice asked. 

 

“Of course I heard that,” Hook said. “I know everything that goes on in my ship.” 

 

Robin smirked. Alice kicked her in the ankle.  

 

With her mother and aunt sitting on the bed, Hook took a seat at the desk, and Robin tugged Alice to the hammock in the corner. They both sat on the edge of it, swinging slightly. Alice curled her legs up underneath her while Robin let her feet swing along. 

 

“So,” Hook said after everyone had settled themselves. “All caught up?” 

 

“Caught up on finding out you’ve convinced my sister to go toe-to-toe with a demigod,” Regina said. 

 

Alice winced and Robin leaned into her side. If they weren’t working so hard on being inconspicuous she’d have pulled her into a hug. She hated any time someone brought up Gothel, if only for the downtrodden and guilty look that washed over Alice’s face when it happened. 

 

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Hook said. “We’re helping her in much the same way.” 

 

“Nottingham,” Aunt Regina spat. Her lips thinned in a frown. “What a waste of perfectly good air.” The anger washed away as she looked at Alice again. “I did hear the most interesting bits of information about you, however.” 

 

Robin put her hand against the small of Alice’s back. She narrowed her eyes at her aunt. “Like what?” she asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew. 

 

Aunt Regina gave her a deadpan look. “Don’t glare at me like that, Robin,” she said sternly. “Gothel having a child...it’s absolutely fascinating. Imagine the kind of magic she’ll have access to at her full potential. Gothel is a powerful force. Horrendous, of course, absolutely evil, but powerful.”  

 

“I won’t be anywhere close to that,” Alice said. She leaned backwards a little into the pressure of Robin’s hand. “I passed out for two days after stopping the fires on Wonderland. I felt woozy even throwing the little bit of magic at you that I did.” 

 

“Yes,” Aunt Regina’s eyes lit up and she leaned forward eagerly. “But not because of why you think. You see, when I channeled some magic into you to bolster you back up, I did it because I thought you were running low. It didn’t help because you  _ weren’t  _ running low.” 

 

Alice frowned. “I didn’t deplete my magic?” she asked. 

 

“Not in the least. Your body wasn’t reacting to lack of magic, it just wasn’t used to the amount of power you were using all at once. Once you build up your stamina you shouldn’t have as dramatic a reaction.” 

 

Hook held up his hand. “Let’s back everything up,” he said. “It sounded before like you knew a lot about Gothel.” 

 

“A decent amount,” Aunt Regina nodded. “One of my jobs is assessing magical threats to the kingdom. Gothel being trapped on the same continent was a threat in and of itself, so I made sure I knew as much as I could about her prison and what she could do if she got out of it.” 

 

“Do you know where she is?” Alice asked hopefully. 

 

Those hopes were dashed when Aunt Regina shook her head. “We’ve heard whispers here and there but nothing concrete. It would have taken a lot out of her to break the spell on her tower. I would assume she’s been building her power back up for the last couple of years.” 

 

“What do you know about the tower?” Robin asked. 

 

Aunt Regina looked at the ceiling for a moment, her jaw working as she thought. “It was old,” she said slowly as she pieced together her thoughts. “Mother was one of the witches who helped cast the spell to bind her, and she left behind some notes about it. They needed to find a place to trap her that was older than she was. It was apparently quite the challenge. The only thing powerful enough to keep her contained was blood magic.” 

 

Alice looked at Robin, eyes wide, but Robin was just as surprised. “Grandmother locked her away? But wasn’t grandmother…” she stopped as she realized who she was about to say that to. 

 

“You can say it,” her mother said, eyes bright with amusement. “Wasn’t she also an evil witch.” 

 

Robin felt her cheeks go hot even as her mom and aunt laughed. Alice laughed too and Robin pinched her in the side. Alice twitched a little and glared at her. 

 

“The lesser of two evils,” her aunt said. The glint of sharp humor in her eyes told Robin she hadn’t missed the interaction. For the first time in her life she wished her aunt could read minds, if only to understand why Robin was staring a hole into the side of her head.  _ Don’t mention it _ , she thought.  _ Don’t say anything, don’t say anything… _

 

“In her prime, Gothel was certainly running for the title of most self-absorbed and malicious magic-user on the planet,” her mother said. 

 

Her aunt nodded. “As current reigning champion, I’m sure mother felt quite threatened.” 

 

“If blood magic was powerful enough to contain her,” Alice said, worrying at her bottom lip when everyone turned to look at her, “then how did she break it?” 

 

Aunt Regina pointed at Alice and smiled. “An excellent question.” 

 

Robin groaned and fell backwards in the hammock, making it rock violently for a moment before it settled again. “Don’t get her started lecturing about magic,” she said to the ceiling. 

 

“Shush, brat,” her aunt scolded. “Magic at its core is all about checks and balances. Blood magic, for all its power, sacrifices for that power by being remarkably imprecise at times. If her original plan to escape was to have you and leave you behind to trick the tower into thinking she was still there, then it was a brilliant plan that probably would have worked. The blood magic would not have differentiated between one female magic-user with Gothel’s blood and another.” 

 

“Very comforting. Thank you,” Hook said sarcastically. 

 

Robin lifted herself back up again, this time doing it slowly and carefully so that the hammock didn’t try to dump both of them onto the floor. “So if blood magic bound her the first time, could we use it again?” she asked. 

 

Her aunt tapped her finger on her chin as she thought that over. Every once in a while she glanced at Robin’s mom as if they were having a silent conversation. 

 

“Possibly,” Aunt Regina said finally. “You’d have to find the same spell that was used the first time around.” She hesitated. Her mouth twisted to the side and Robin knew immediately that she wasn’t going to like whatever her aunt said next. “You’d want Alice there to cast it.” 

 

“No,” Robin and Hook said in tandem.  

 

“Why would I need to be there?” Alice asked. 

 

Robin’s heart, which had sped up to twice its usual rate at the thought of Alice being within a hundred feet of her mother, quadrupled as she realized that Alice was considering it. 

 

“I know you can’t feel it, Alice,” her mother said, “but you have vast amounts of power within you. Without the same resources as the coven that originally cast the spell, not only  _ should  _ you be the one to do it, you might be the only one who can.” 

 

Her aunt made a disgruntled noise at the back of her throat. “We could do it,” she grumbled. 

 

“No we couldn’t. Not without a full coven, and unless you have six other witches stashed up your sleeves…” her mom countered. 

 

Aunt Regina shook out her sleeves and Robin half expected someone to fall out of them, but they were empty, even as wisps of purple danced around her hands. “Fine,” Aunt Regina muttered, and a moment later an almost alarmingly pleasant smile was plastered on her face. “We can offer support, but Alice...it would be best if you cast the spell.”

 

“No,” Robin said again. She set her jaw and glared - not necessarily at someone in particular but at the very idea that they could be considering this an option. 

 

Hook nodded at her and put a hand to the hilt of his sword. “Definitely not,” he agreed. 

 

“What would it entail?” Alice asked in a small voice. 

 

Robin could hear the fear laced in it, and it took all her willpower to keep herself from reaching out and taking her hand. 

 

“Starfish, you may _not_ consider this!” 

 

“Papa, we cannot allow her to go free. She’s not just a threat to us. She’s a threat to everyone. Everyone we care about, everyone we  _love_ is in danger as long as she is alive and free.”

 

Robin felt the way Alice’s leg nudged against hers, and a lump formed in her throat that was hard to swallow around. Her chest tightened. For just a moment her brain flashed back to the island, and the look Alice gave her when she said she loved her. The urge to reach out increased. 

 

“It’s not your responsibility,” Hook replied, a pleading look in his eyes. 

 

“I think it’s my destiny. I have her power running through me. Her magic flows through my veins. It has done so much evil, Papa. Let me use it to do the world some good.” 

 

It made sense, and Robin hated that it made sense. Everything inside her protested the idea of Alice putting herself in danger of any kind - but a pirate’s life was nothing  _ but  _ danger, and she needed to come to terms with it sooner rather than later. “I’ll help. I’m with you all the way,” Robin said, hoping the other people in the room didn’t catch how her voice cracked with emotion. 

 

Aunt Regina cleared her throat. “A moot point, at the moment,” she reminded them. “Certainly no confrontation will go well if we run headfirst into a fight.” 

 

“We?” Robin asked. 

 

“Yes, well, I’m not about to let my sister and niece throw themselves at a nigh immortal entity without backup. So,” she stood up and brushed her hands across her thighs, “the first order of business is for me to go home.” 

 

“Running away already?” Hook asked. 

 

Aunt Regina glared at him. “We need to find the spell that bound her in the first place. I’ll go back and look at mother’s journal again. I doubt she’d do something as helpful as write it into the margins like a recipe in a cookbook but it will at least point us in the right direction. It may even give us the names of the rest of the witches in her coven. If one of them is still alive...that would be helpful.” 

 

“Helpful is an understatement,” Robin’s mom agreed. “Anyway, even if you can find the spell, we have no idea where she is, and only hints at where she’s been. Someone with as much magic as Gothel will be able to cloak her movements, so how we’d even begin to track her -”

 

“Same way we’ll lock her away. Blood magic.” Aunt Regina said far too flippantly. 

 

“Sorry?” Alice asked. 

 

“You said it yourself. Her magic runs through your veins. So does her blood. It will only give us a general idea of where she is, but it will be much easier to narrow down her location once we’ve got a spot on the map to look.” 

 

Robin felt her body go cold. Looking at Alice, she could see the same idea behind her eyes. “Could Gothel do the reverse?” Robin asked, voice tight. 

 

“I’ll work up some protection spells before I head out,” Aunt Regina said, and Robin’s stomach twisted into knots at the unspoken answer. 

 

“I’ll help!” her mom offered. 

 

“And keep doing what you’ve been doing,” her aunt continued. “Moving around so much is probably why she had to resort to attacking your home base in the first place.” Her eyes softened with sympathy when she saw how pale Alice had gotten at the thought. “Remember, it’s only general. She can only track what she shares with you, the same way you can only track what you share with her. Specific locations can’t be ferreted out through shared blood.” She sighed. “If only we had a drop of her actual blood.” 

 

“I don’t want to share anything with her,” Alice spat. Robin could see that her hands had clenched into fists at her sides. 

 

“You’re nothing like her,” Hook assured her. “She may have birthed you, but that is the only connection you have.” 

 

Robin stopped fighting the urge. She reached out and put her hand over Alice’s clenched fist, brushing her fingers gently over her knuckles until Alice relaxed her hand enough to let Robin grab it. 

 

Her mother laughed suddenly. “Well, Regina,” she said. “I’m sure you were surprised to find us keeping the company of pirates willingly. Not what you expected?”

 

“Hey!” Hook protested. 

 

Aunt Regina nodded. “I was also surprised to stumble upon my niece making out with her girlfriend, so it’s not the only thing I didn’t expect to happen today.” 

 

Robin cringed as her mother turned sharp, accusatory eyes on her. “Making out??” 

 

“Girlfriend??” Hook’s bewildered face might have made her laugh if his hand wasn’t still on the hilt of his sword. 

 

“Oh, wow,” Robin said quickly. She leaned around to peer out of the window behind Hook. “Is the sun that low?” She slipped out of the hammock and made a move to the door. 

 

“Sit down!” Hook instructed. 

 

Robin glanced at Alice, who was strategically looking anywhere but at her father. 

 

“Robin, what did I say?” her mom asked. 

 

Hook’s head whipped around from Robin and Alice to her mom instead. “Wait, you knew?!” he half-shouted. 

 

Robin felt a tug on the back of her shirt. “Well,” Alice said as she took two steps backward, tugging at Robin to follow her, "we’ll let you two work that out and just - ”

 

Both parents abandoned glaring at each other to turn their glares on the girls instead. “Nope,” Hook said, flailing his hook in the air at them. “Don’t you think that you’re getting out of here that easily.” 

 

Alice sighed and Robin sighed with her, shoulders dropping in defeat. She  _ did  _ think they were going to get out of here that easily. It’s not that she didn’t want anyone to know about her and Alice - she did, she wanted to shout it from the rooftop of the tallest building she could find - she just wanted them to have their moments to themselves for just a little while longer. 

 

Her Aunt Regina shook her head at them, not looking the least bit sorry about starting this whole thing. “Making out in Wonderland?” she asked them. Her tone had an teasing lilt that Robin didn’t appreciate. “Were you even  _ trying  _ to be subtle? You don’t think you two had more important things to be doing?” 

 

“Like resting,” Hook snapped pointedly. “How long has this been going on exactly?” 

 

Robin pulled at the collar of her shirt, which hadn’t felt tight or constricting until just this very moment. Alice grabbed her arm and yanked it back away from her neck and Robin remembered why she was wearing a high collar in the first place. 

 

“Well?” Hook prompted when neither of them answered. He raised an eyebrow at their silence.

 

“The squall,” Robin mumbled to the floor at the same time that Alice awkwardly added, “The smuggler’s cove island.”  

 

“Thought you knew everything that happened on your ship,” Aunt Regina said wickedly. 

 

Robin’s mom sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was trying to stave off a headache. “Really, Regina, now is not the time.” 

 

“No, she’s right,” Hook said, frowning thunderously. “What else don’t I know? Werewolves, witches, my daughter dating?! This is not my ship anymore!” 

 

“Papa, don’t you think that’s a bit dramatic?” 

 

A timid knock interrupted them. “WHAT?” Hook snapped. 

 

“Sir, Captain…” Smee’s voice carried through the wood. “Just thought you ought to know that - “

 

“Not now, Mr. Smee,” Hook cut him off. The pause in the conversation seemed to rob him of some of his steam, however, because once they heard Smee walk away, Hook sighed heavily and looked at them again. “I thought it was great that you’d finally got a friend your age and…” his eyes dropped down to their hands, which hadn’t separated once since the conversation had started. “Girlfriends?” 

 

Robin nodded. Alice squeezed her hand and nodded as well. 

 

“Far too attached for their own good,” Robin’s mom said, quietly but in a way that sounded like a reprimand. 

 

Robin bristled. “Mom, I love her,” she said, with all the emotion and sincerity she could put into the words. Like they were the first time she’d said them, lips pressed against Alice’s temple and surrounded by smoke. 

 

“Love?” the word repeated around the room in varying tones. Hook had softened, but his face and voice both still reflected his worry. Robin’s mom sounded almost heartbroken at the prospect. Her aunt was mostly just surprised. 

 

The grip Alice had on her hand tightened almost painfully. Robin looked at her. 

 

“Love?” Alice echoed, with a smile so bright and vibrant it deserved to be preserved in its own constellation. 

 

“I do. I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.” She might have heard the words before, but they made her melt no less this time than they had the first time she’d heard them. She pressed a tender kiss to Alice’s lips, and pulled away quickly when a pointed throat clearing reminded her that they were far from alone in the room. 

 

“Too?” Hook’s voice echoed, sounding suddenly incredibly tired. 

 

Before anyone could answer, Willy zipped in through the window, circling first Alice, then Robin before settling on Robin’s shoulder. 

 

“ _ What _ is  _ that _ ?” Aunt Regina demanded. 

 

Robin giggled as she nudged her head against him. “It’s Willy! Haven’t seen you for a while, little guy. Too much time in the crow’s nest?”

 

“I’m sorry, it’s what?” Aunt Regina blinked in surprise at the little light that seemed to purr and rub against Robin like a cat. 

 

Her mom sighed, an up and down motion that seemed to weigh her into the bed. “Alice created a will’o’wisp during her first magic lesson. They’ve named it Willy. He’s been spending most of his time in here.” 

 

“The effortless power in such a young girl,” her Aunt Regina said wistfully as she watched Willy bump against Alice’s forehead in greeting.

 

Alice scooped him into her hand and gave Robin a look that nearly melted her into the floor. “I’d give it all to keep Robin safe,” she said.

 

A second, more solid knock fell on the door, and a moment later it opened. Kaia’s head peeked in a moment later. “Hey, just thought you might be at least a little interested to know that that muffle spell you guys had going on before is not really working so well anymore, and literally everyone has heard the arguing, so…”

 

Robin blushed as Kaia shot her and Alice a smirk. 

 

Hook sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. “Right, well, we’ll...We’ll continue this later.”

 

Alice tugged her towards the door, and Robin gladly followed. 

 

“We  _ will _ continue this later,” Hook warned. 

 

Robin nodded, but let Alice lead her out of the room. 

 

Kaia ducked back to let them through, and her face broke into an obnoxiously smug grin as they joined her in the hallway. Ruby leaned against the far wall looking equally smug. 

 

“Love, huh?” Ruby asked. 

 

“Eavesdropping isn’t nice, Wolfie,” Robin glared, but she felt Alice squeeze her hand, and she realized she didn’t really care that Ruby and Kaia had overheard. 

 

“It’s very sweet,” Kaia said as the four of them headed down the hallway. 

 

Robin could tell she was being patronizing, but for the moment she was willing to let it slide. 

 

“Shame about those stamina problems, though, Alice,” Kaia added with a wicked grin. 

 

“Kaia!” Alice yelled, swatting towards her best friend, who bolted up the stairs to the top deck. Alice let go of her hand to chase after her, and Robin had to giggle. 

 

Ruby looked at her expectantly. “Don’t tell me you want to miss this show.”

 

“Good point,” Robin agreed, and they both raced up the stairs after them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> liz: hey what ever happened to Willy  
> me: *griffin mcelroy voice* I ABANDONED MY BOY 
> 
> FFAU will be updated tomorrow and thank you all for being so patient during the unintended mini-hiatus


End file.
